——
Vou.. VILE. Week
NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1898.
Prick Ten Cents.
THE YALE MISSION.
The New Building Nearly Completed.
A SKetch of Ten Years? Work.
The men of Yale are just completing
one of the most important pieces of
work ever undertaken by the voluntary
religious organization of the University.
The final touches are now being put on
the new building of the Yale City
Mission. ?
This Mission has for ten years
exerted a growing influence upon
the lives of College men. The part
which it has played in reconciling the
student and town factions in a locality
years ago famous for the campaigns of
the college bully, as well as the rare op-
portunity which it offers for College
men to come in contact with the so-
called laboring classes, has not before
been brought to the attention of friends
of Yale. Its steady development makes
a story full of interest, comprising as
it does a hitherto unpublished chapter
of Yale effort.
It was in April, 1888, that the first
attempts were made by students to con-
duct religious meetings in that part of
the Grand Avenue district known as
the “Bowery of New Haven.” A.
Alonzo Stagg, Yale’s famous pitcher
and now Professor in the University of
Chicago, who originated the plan, was
at that time Secretary of the College
Young Men’s Christian Association.
He enlisted the support of a num-
ber of Eighty-Nine men prominent
in the athletic, literary and social life
of Yale. Corbin, Gill, Pinchot, Par-
sons and Fisher were among the
number who assisted in the found-
ing and fostering of the first Yale Mis-
sion. A small room was rented on
the third floor of Washington Hall on
Grand ave., and meetings were held
regularly on Sunday and Friday even-
ings. Tradition has it that at first some
considerable opposition was aroused
among the corner devotees, who failed
to understand the motives. which
prompted a little body of college men
to put in an appearance twice a week
at so unusual a place, and to stand
about the doorway inviting them to the
service, and, after an hour’s interval to.
disappear with as much regularity. It
is even related that Yale muscle as well
as Yale brains had sometimes to as-
sert itself among the more boisterous
element. But gradually those who had
before been sceptical began to stumble
quite regularly up the two narrow
flights of stairs to the little room on
the top floor, which was bright and
-warm, even if not luxuriant, and where
good music might be heard.
During the five years on Grand ave.
the meetings increased greatly in size,
and the students soon started a boys’
club, prompted no doubt by the small
army of street urchins who gathered
about the door and plead for ‘admit-
tance when the music was going on
up stairs. The general location was
not, however, the best for the boys, and
not long afterwards this branch of the
work was moved to Orange street, and
later to Welcome Hall on Oak street.
In both branches of the work engaged
in up to this time, the codperation of
several of the city churches had been
secured.
AN EXPERT'S EXAMINATION.
The room on the top floor of Wash-
ington Hall was, however, unsatis-
factory as a general meeting place for
the mission. Its distance from the en-
trance kept away many who might
otherwise have slipped in to back seats
near a street door. The two long flights
of creaking stairs were a pretty rigid test
for a bashful and distrustful stranger
who eyed the whole procedure of the
students suspiciously as if it were a
trap set for his especial capture. Mr.
Shaw noted in his report of 1892 the
imperative need of a building with a
large room on the ground floor easy of
access, but no acceptable one was to be
found in the immediate neighborhood.
On the other hand, Mr. A. J. Ervine,
Dr. Schauffler’s assistant in New York
City, who made a special study of the
district for ten days in 1892, confirmed
the students in their belief that they
were in the right field. He reported
that there was no district in New York
City so utterly destitute of missionary
effort as that surrounding this part of
Grand Avenue in New Haven.
Finally a change became imperative.
Much as the students regretted leaving
their old ground, the work had now
developed so as to require a whole
house with other accommodations be-
sides those for meetings. On Novem-
ber 19th, 1803, the first service was
held in new quarters at 215 East street,
three blocks above the Yale boat house.
A two-story wooden building with
rooms for night lodgers had been
rented in a factory district. The prox-
imity of this new location to the docks
and railroad tracks introduced a greater
number of transients than before and
necessarily a greater proportion of
professional beggars. A student super-
intendent took charge of the building,
running the lodging house and sleeping
there in special quarters provided for
him. Meetings were now held on three
days of the week, Sundays, Tuesdays
and Fridays. Some. fifty different stu-
dents engaged in this work during the
first year at East street. A Bible class
was organized, meeting Sunday morn-
ing under the charge of a Senior. The
Reading Room, a new feature, was open
on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and
Saturday evenings and on Sunday after-
noons. Meetings for boys only were
held on Friday evenings.
THE LODGING HOUSE.
The lodging house which had been
introduced at East street was a success
from the standpoint of numbers. On
the average twelve lodgers a day were
housed and fed. But experienced city
missionaries, who were personally ac-
quainted with the “rounders” and pro-
fessional beggars, inspected the tenants
on several occasions and reported that
the generosity of the College men was
being greatly imposed upon. To off-
set this, cards were issued without
which transients could not get lodg-
ings and which had to be signed by
some student connected with the Mis-
sion before being presented to the
superintendent. But even then it was
found that the men were being sys-
tematically deceived. The writer re-
members very well one exceptionally
refined looking man, who presented
himself for lodging and claimed to be
a newspaper man in hard luck. He
was neatly dressed and an intelligent
and fluent.conversationalist on all sub-
jects, and professed to be sincerely
seeking for the truth. He remained at
the Mission for several days, attracting
and winning the sympathies of all with
whom he came in contact. One morn-
ing he appeared in an exultant state
of mind, bearing a letter which he
showed to the. superintendent and
which stated that he had been appointed
special correspondent for a well known
New York paper to the Paris Exposi-
‘in
THE YALE MISSION.
Photographed for the WEEKLY by Corbin & Konold.
tion, with a large salary per month.
The next day he appeared at the super-
intendent’s office clad in a fine suit of
black with a valet attending him and
presented a check for $15 in payment
for his lodging bill, which amounted
to less than one third of the check.
As soon as he had received the change
he at once disappeared, and when the
superintendent came to present the
check at the bank of course to his great
surprise he found it worthless. Several
other cases of a similar nature might be
quoted. But perhaps such cases were
to be expected and the wonder should
be that they did not happen with
greater frequency, for in the months
from October, 1897, to June, 1898, 2,200
lodgings were given and 150 articles
of clothing distributed.
As early as 1896 educational features
were first started. A Glee and Banjo
Club concert proved an exceedingly at-
tractive drawing card, and was greatly
appreciated. Lectures on Monday
evenings on such subjects as “Foot-
ball,” “The Klondike’ and “Switzer-
land,” the latter illustrated with stere-
opticon views, drew large and inter-
ested audiences. A special effort was
made to have general entertainments on
Saturday evenings to keep the men
from squandering their week’s wages.
QUARTERS AGAIN OUTGROWN.
Such in brief was the second period
of the Yale Mission in the East street
district, characterized by the introduc-
tion of the lodging house system and
its gradual abuse, and also by the first
beginnings of educational features. At
the close of last Spring it became ap-
parent that the Mission had outgrown
its present quarters, and that the time
had come when the Yale Association
would be justified in returning to the
old and more favorable location on
Grand avenue and in building a struc-
ture suited to its needs. The private
-
subscription list was circulated among
undergraduates and alumni shortly after
May ist, and in three months over
$5,000 had been subscribed and paid in,
two-thirds of which was from under-
graduates.
The new building now in process of
erection is situated on Franklin street,
just a few doors south of Grand ave.
It is a two story brick structure with
well ventilated auditorium on the first
floor to seat 150, lighted with 12 large
windows. In the basement is a room
for a boys’ club to be open every night
in the week, and four shower baths.
On the second floor are rooms for a
library of specially selected works of
literature, in charge of a student promi-
nent in literary work; a reading room,
lighted by a glass roof above, to include
eight newspapers and periodicals, and
for educational
two smaller rooms
classes besides the superintendent’s
quarters. The lodging system has
been modified by introducing safe-
guards against imposition, and educa-
tional features have been emphasized
and accommodated to the work. The
whole structure is heated by furnace
and lighted by gas. Religious meet-
ings are to be held regularly on Sun-
_ day, Tuesday and Thursday evenings,
‘and entertainments on Saturdays. If
sufficient interest is manifested educa-
tional classes on practical subjects
will be conducted by students. The
reading room will be open every night
and noon and other features will be
added from time to time as the work
warrants. While the new building has
been in process of erection this Fall,
a store on the corner of Grand avenue
and Franklin street, two doors away,
has been rented, and meetings held
regularly. Over seventy different Col-
lege men have already been down_to
take part in the different services. The
room has been packed on Sundays,
and fairly well filled on week days. | It
may be interesting in this connection
to quote a few words which recently
appeared in a New Haven daily re-