“The Right Sort Of Girl.”

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 21, 22 May 1912, Page 3

“The Right Sort Of Girl.”

A battle royal is being waged in New York over the question whether the Y.M.C.A.’s should provide tl.ieir ujenr hers with a ch nice of meeting (he ‘Tight sort of girl.” Many people hold that the Y.M.C.A.’s should not on the functions of the ' Less Lo,ncly League,” which was iormed with the ex . press object of giving th? girls a chance of meeting the “right sort of man,” but there is a large body apparently which favours a compromise on terms consistent with the dignity and s-.*lf respect of bpith sides. After the fierce debate which began in tin* Y.M.C.A.’s, and extended to the newspapers, i,t. was decided that the problem should be thrashed out at the Biennial Convention of the New York State associations. Air. Walter Diasy, secretary of New York’s biggest Y.M.C.A., had to say on the subject: “A-young man who comes to New York as -a stranger has little opportunity of meeting the right kind of girls; the only women to whom he can feel free to speak are those who smile at him in the street. There is nothing at all sensational in the subject; it is simply a matter of whether or not the Y.M.C.A.’s can find a way to meet the problem of such young men by providing the normal company of the right sort of girl.” A proposal that the A.M.C.A.’s should hold joint conferences and social entertainments under mutual auspices was rejected, on the ground that there is -an overwhelming majority of male members, and that something of the kind was attempted years ago and failed miserably. Another proposal is that young people who arrive in an American city as strangers should not content themselves merely with joining an association of their own sex, but should seek affiliation with one of the existing churches, and in tint way secure the companionship they crave. Mr. Diaay declares that a large proporlion of young men in America remain single merely because they never had a chance to find a good wife.