New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-02-20
TIE WOMEN'S CRUSADE.


When the women of Ohio began their as
sault upon the liquor shops, almost everybody
supposed the movement would be nothing
more than the feeting excitement OF an hour.
The ladies would parade the streets, and as
semble in the churches. and sing hymns, and
raise their voices in prayer; would carry
about the pledge for signatures, and thrust
the pencil into trembling and beery hands !;
would keep little towns and villages in tur-
MOL for few days, and exact all sorts OF
impossible promises from unwilling sinners !;
but We were not to expect practical result
from such extraordinary and irregular proceed
ings. Even if the women were stout enough
of heart to withstand the jeers, and insults,
and brutal remarks that would certainly assall
them, and vigorous enough in body to endure
the long watch of prayer. hour after hour, day
after day, from early morn till the night
was far spent the time must soon
como when the spiritual excitement that
inspired the crusade would die away, to be
followed by the inevitable reaction. But two
months have now passed, and the women are
more earnest than ever. Driven out OF the
bar-rooms they lncel in the muddy streets,
which may be cleaner after all than sanded
floors bestrewn with the refuse of convivi
atty. They mind neither the cold winds nor
the peting rain All manner of engines of
defense have been brought up against them
without avail Here ali unregenerate saloon
l,eeper throws snuff into the midst of the
praying band. There an irate rufan assaults
them with poker. Vulgar caricatures are
displayed in the shop windows. Coarse jests
are heard as the crusaders march through the
streets The law is invoked to prevent tres
pass upon private premises and interference
with legal occupations; and III this part OF
the defense it is important to notice that the
wholesale liquor dealers are helping the rum
shop keepers with money. Nevertheless the
crusade goes on, and the roll of victory
lengthens every day.
1t is apparent that we have all moderated
the strength of woman's enthusiasm and de-
votion. These generous ard Christian im-
pulses are something more than Outbursts of
sentiment; they are important forces in the
government of society. If the Ohio temper
ance movement can be guided with reasona-
bic discretion, it may regenerate the whole
region. 1t will not, of course, destroy intern
perance. and probably it will not permanently
check the sale Of liquor; but it may make
drinking more disreputable, and save thou
sands of men whose case is not yet hopeless.
The danger in such movements is in attempt
ing to go too fast or too far. The Ohio ladies
will do well not to misunderstood the legal
aspect of their case, to begin with. No doubt,
they have been guilty in many instances of a
technical trespass and though the courts are
evidently in sympathy with them, they may
easily place themselves in such position that
the law will be compelled to interfere. The
committees of gentlemen. organized to assist
them. have kept prudently in the background,
and we trust they will have sense enough to
remain there since their appearance in the
front, even under the pretense of protecting
the ladies from insult, would probably lead to
scenes of violence fatal to the whole enter
prise. Let the women keep their tempers and
respect the law, and they will have things
pretty much their own way.
1t cannot have escaped notice that in the
larger towns the Women'5 Crusade has almost
uniformly failed. In its early stages. at all
events, it is adapted only to small communi-
ties, where people are well known to one
another, and the rum interest is easily isolated.
The friends of temperance will hope, there
FORE that it may be confined for the present
to those places where it has fair prospect of
success. In victory the women are sublime;
in defeat they are apt to be ridiculous; and
such rebuffs as they experienced in Columbus
and Jersey City. and as they would be sure to
encounter just now in New-York, must have
a depressing influence upon the whole cam
paign. They must accumulate the impetus of
completer triumphs among the rustic rum
holes before they risk the dangerous expert
meDt Of raid on the large cities.