Proposed Christian Association Build'g

A short time previous to tlie closing of the uuiversitv a religlous census of the student was taken by the Studeiits' Christian Association, replies being received from 1,306 of the 1,503 students. Of this nuniber 805 were proftwlllg Christians; G3!) mcmbera of churches, 569 of whom were members of evangelicnl churches. tn the literary departmerit alone 309 out of 604 were professinL Christians, and 201 merabers of evangelical churches. Of the 92 persons composinn; the faculties 59 are members of evangelical churches, 19 are regular attondants and supporters of giich churches, and 7 re members of otber, not evangélica!. The Students' Uhristian Assooiation of he 17. of M. bas grown from a meniberBhip of 15 in 1857 to 329 the past year. Some of the morniiiff meetings are attended by upward of 400 students, and the socials are attended by hundreds. A Bibleclass ineets every Sunday p. m. n the library of the association there are about 1,000 volumes of carefully selected eligloua books. In connection with tlw assoeiation tbere are organized two bands, one of those who intend to enter the misIon field, home or foreign, and the otlier of those who expect to tuke up the work of the ministry. The forme r bad lï memen the past year, while Ij more stuents proposed taking up missiotmry work. The latter has 14 members, six of whom were in the senior cIhss, while S moni students thoubt of entering the ministry. The work of these bands is hut just beguo, and is only a prouiise of what can be accompliühed. The association has come to a crisis in its hUtoiy. It lias outgrown the rooms wbicli can be given it in the university buildings, lts work is opening out in every direclion, and the possibilities of its inriuence are bounded only by the nuniber of students in the university. l'mler tliese clrcumstances the demand for a new building for the U3e of the association becomes imperative. Wben It is considered tliat Michigan University with its 1,563 students stands secnnd in point of nunibers in the list of colleges and nnlTOWMw, leiding Yale by 420, ind fallin; only 125 below Harvard, while in its literary depnrtmeaC alone it had ftbout 180 more stndenls tlian Princction. 445 more th.in Brown, .'i9'3 more than Williams, 357 more tlian AmlierM, and 3'.'!) more tliau IJowdoln, and only 186 less thsn Cornell all told, it will be seen thul herc is a mirlitv center of nlliience, a Ptratejiic polnt wliicli ( would be folly to neglect. Young men and yoinii; vromen co out from college with clmracters formeel, and they go into tlie schools of this state, into positions of power and tifltience in every commnnity, to transuiii tliu Impnurfoni of tlieir college lile to the young people of the state. Nor is it simply ft qnestion of reachlng the 1,668 young people now In the university, for at least one-third of the studetits le.ive every year, nud their pUctít are ffllpplied by others. The cltizfliif of Ann Arbor, and faculties and studi'uts have raised $2,500 for the pn reliase or a most deüirable lot for tbe RMOCÜUJoii, and $15,000 are required to erect such a buUdUigu is needed. The Baptist Male oonventions of '84 and '86, the Congremtlonal reneral assocUtion of '84, tlie Detroit and Michigan Methodist conferences of '84 and '86, and ihe Presbyterlan synmls of '84 and '8ö, aave etidorsed this project, and seconded tbc appeaJ fot fuaü. It is an enterprise that is too broad tor auy one town. It reacties wherever tliereare those wlio are likely to come to the university for tiieir educ.uioMjiir wlierever the Krnüimtes of the university are likely to o to use theii edneatiou. This is tbe lirst cali thal lias ever been tnade for money to carry on religious or moral work in the univer-ity. Tlie bnildiiii; is needed BOt simplyasa faoility for work, great as is its neeil in that direotlon, bilt also to give dignity and permuntnee to Christinn work in tlie university. Ben isa chanca for soine able puned man wlio loves mankind to erecta lasting monument lor liimscll.