Feow a Consesroxnerr After 34 years of continuous service as a secretary of the YMCA, the Rev. D, Willard Lyon, M.3.0.0, member of the staff of the National Committee of Y.M.C.A's of China and one of the founders of the association movement in this country, soon to retire from his work, a work to which he has devoted the greatest, and best part of his life.
The career of Dr. Lyon represents the most important chapter of the story of the Y.M.C.A, in China, In it one sees the steady growth of movement from an insignificant beginning of two or three school Y.M.C.A/s to a nation-wide social force, a force that Some 40 city association than 100 student associations seat tered all over the country. For this phenomenal growth and for the Position which the China movement now occupies, it is generally recognized, a great portion of the credit should go to Dr. Lyon.
More important, perhaps, than is career, notable as it is, is his bodiment "ofthe spirit and. principles for which the YMCA. movement stands. It is this life that has inspired numerous young men to dedicate their lives Yo the movement which he, with others, initiated in this country, and that has won him a great number fof warm friends, some of whom are occupying the highest positions in ational and international affairs.
One of the unusual and remarkable facts about Dr. Lyon is the Process of rejuvenation that his life has gone through. This fact, can no better be illustrated than by this succinct characterization of him by tone who knows him the best: "He was a frail boy at ten and boy at 12, a country teacher at 16, a college graduate at 21 and old man at 26, never having learned to play. The world weighed heavily pon him. He thought at 25 that should reform the whole world and was prepared to be a martyr and die in the attempt. Instead, he [has become younger every year, earning rather late in life to play tennis and other games and to keep himself in good physical trim.
"He loves to tell of being born a house-boat near Vu Yao and delights to remember that Wang Yang-ming, one of the greatest Chinese philosophers and scholare, claimed the ame birth-place."
Physically, he looks many" yeu younger than and mentally, he la just in the prime of his life, Anyone who has Tead his writings for who has heard him propounding his phileeophy about the future of the ¥.M.C.A. in China would hardly Delieve that he has reached the age of retirement. Rather, he would think of him asa liberal-minded and forward-looking youth, except that he isa youth with an experi-fence that extends over more than half a century.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.