Y.M.C.A. AND THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16202, 12 April 1916, Page 8

Y.M.C.A. AND THE WAR.

WORK It! ANY LAND'

Tkb work of tho Young Men's Chiitia.. Association among soijiers, both at Home and on the battlefield, was tho subject of a lecture by the association's national secretary, Mr. A. Varney, delivered in the Town Hall concert chamber last evening. Thoro was a largo attendance. In introducing his subject the lecturer stated that the war had given the association its greatest chance. Before the war it had Heen carrying on its usual work, both v Home and abroad. Within 10 days oi the outbreak of hostilities the association had arranged for the erection of 250 hutments in the various training camps in England, and had since done an enormous amount of good work.' Its ramifications were far-reaching. On many | fronts tlie association was to be found providing tho men with every comfort , that monoy and sympathy could find. Many of the hutments had been provided by parents as a memorial to a boy who had given his life for his country. "Large business firms had also given several buildings. The intellectual side, too, had been carefully studied, and lectures were given, in addition to which there was always a plentiful supply of books and magazines. The cost to tho association in, supplying the men, in the _ camps' throughout the world, with writing material was £1000 per week. At Home, too, the association had provided institutions whereby men who had been rejected as medically unfit could undergo training, free of charge, to enable them eventually to reach the firing-line. In conclusion, the speaker said that wherever tho New Zealanders were the Y.M.C.A. would also bo found. The Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, Colonel Hume, Mr. C. H. Poole, M.P., and Mr. W. E. Bush, president of tho association in Auckland, also spoke. During the evening a number of musical items were rendered. ,