Democratic banner., 1848-05-22

, lleu WIFI All the interest tidt TACT Con give IL
: These are its distinctive features, and ii
: every one of them We believe it possesSe
incalculabIo superiority over all that pre-
Iceded it. They were occasional, It's con
%tiuual. They were evanescent, is per
%nanent. They were agitatives, it is a re-
formation. They were good, it is better.
But we believe no better test of the sue
cess of a project can be given than actua
experiment. In our case the test has beer
made, and what is the result?
The fist meeting for the purpose of or.
iganizing some permanent, beneficial tenn.
;iperance institution was held in the city OF
New York, on the 10Th, day Of September,
1872, less t!:an six years ago. 1t consisted
of sixteen WaShingtonians who then and
there organized New York Division No. l.
of the Sons Of Temperance. In Deem
Der of the same Year a kind Of provisional
grand Division was organized in the alb
%sence Of a regular representative Grand
Division. In a short time charters were
granted for three new divisions, one i'll
Newark, N. ]. and two others in New
York. The four divisions now in Txistcnce
elected representatives TO the first regular
delegated Grand Division which met in n.
Y, Jan. 8, 1913, but little more than !threc
months after the first formation of the insti-
tuition.
Little more than aycarhad elapsed since
the first meeting of the sixteen immortal
men whose names are at the head of the
roll of Sons, when a. the annual meet
ing of the q. d. of N. Y. there were ascer-
tanned to be 10 subordinate divisions, and
1899 members.
In June, 1874, seven Grand Divisions
come into existence, the National
Division was organized, which is the high
est source of power and jurisdiction for the
order.
At the second session of the National
Division in June 1915, there were 10 Grand
Divisions, 1911 subordinate divisions, and
over 1900 members.
"On Tuesday, June g., 1916, the first Ma
'tional Jubilee of the Order came off in the
city of New York. The day was ushered
in by a general ringing of bells. The stars
and stripes waved majestically over the
city Hall, State Arsenal, and other public
buildings. The sparkling croton guslied
plOutI1 HUN tiS lpull(dliIS "biCII
adorn the city. At noon a national salute
was fired on the Battery under the direction
of Commissary Gen. Storms. At one o.
clock the line was formed by NJ. w. Mar
shall, T. B. Florance of Pennsylvania, and
Aids. AT two the procession moved. The
streets were ihronged. Triumpl,al arch
es were erected over many of tie princi-
pal streets. About 10000 Sons were in
the line, and as they moved along they were
frequently hailed with cheers from men,
and waving of handkerchiciS. from ladies'.
About four O'Clock the head of the line,
reached the Park where it is believed 3d.
600 people gathered to hear the address and
other exercises"
The National Division met the next day.
There were reported as belonging to the
Order Is Grand Divisions, $50 subordinate
Divisions, and 10000 members, ali increase
in a single year of 3 G. Divisions, 1856 sub
ordinate Divisions, and $4,000 members.
A second National Jubilee was held the
following year in Philadelphia which was
much larger than the preceding one.
A. the meeting of the National Division
June 1917, there were ascertained to be 81
g. Divisions, 1900 subordinate Divisions,
and nearly l00,000 members, an increase in
the preceding year of 9 G. Divisions, $50
subordinate Divisions, and 10000 men,
bers. What an astonishing increase! At
this ratio there can scarcely be less than a
quarter of a million at the next meeting Of.
the National Division.
The Sons are now established in every
in the union, and have two G. Divis-I
ions in Queen Fictoria's Dominions, Nsw
Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. And if | am
not mistaken for l have no authentic sta
t%istics to establish the fact there are Di-
now in England.
l am fully persuaded that this reform is
to take the world.
In former times it was said "Me march
IF empire is Wes.wdrd." From Asia and
Africa it spread into Europe, and from Eu-
rope into America. To Europe we owe
our fathers, and our religion, and cur let
ters and our refinement. With her classic
and her mammoth Universities,
with her p%rincely endowments, & her r~esour-
ces fully developed, and her governments
honry with age ard ripe in experience,
she. claimed a high precedence and it was
conceded to her. But the tide has turned.