West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1882-11-15
From the Address of Miss Fran
ces E. Willard,
President Of the ". N C, T. T. at ats
Ninth Ann,.al Meeting, Louisville,
KY, Oct. z5-2S, 1882.

ERS: Inc age or Steam is passing
on by magic transformation into
the age of electricity, and this is
not more true in the material than
in the spiritual world
The Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union is to my thought but a
vast and growing network of tele-
graph lines, along which fly swift
and blessed messages transmitted
by that Divine Spirit whose CEN
trail battery is the heart of Christ.
Slow, difficult and adventurous as
is the work of building these lines,
establishing the stations, enlistipg
and teaching the operators, one
forgets the hardship in remember
ing what are the messages and
whence they come throbbing over
the wires with their sweet "peace
on earth good will to men," Hav-
ing spent the year in a delightful
tour of combined construction and
inspection, am happy to report all
the main lines in excellent work
ing order, with q new (State)
branch line opened in Texas, anoth.
er in Missouri, aud third in Ten
nessee, while several hundred local
stations have been established
since we met. Our most southerly
station on the continent added this
year is San Antonio; our most
northern is Spokan, Washington
Territory. On the frontier we have
new one in Ogden, Wyoming
Territory, and several in Utah and
Oregon, while the Christian women
of Honolulu have written for in
structions, and Sidney. Australia,
lust reports simultaneously with
Richmond, Va, a Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union with over
one hundred names. Messages re-
ceived by our chief operator at our
central office in the Bible House,
New York, indicate that at the
present rate of construction we
shall be able to report at our next
meeting a branch line in every
State and territory of the Repub-
lie, offset by one in every Canadian
Province, and station in each
capital, commercial AID education
al center of North America. Moth
ing less is worthy Of our plans,
our purposes, our powers.
Let us remember, dear sisters,
that we must first build and equip
the telegraph before the message
can be sent, nor fail to see that the
radius and circumference are not
less importan, than the. center !;
the force centripetal conspiring to
round the circle of perfect work
Electric indeed has been the ra-
pidity of growth in temperance
sentiment throughout the nation
this wondrous year AS we call the
roll of States, Iowa, which was last
year tremulous hope, stands forth
a glorious victor. Kansas nobly
holds the fort for prohibition, and
like the white plume Of Navarro
CLEANS the ensign of that beloved
leader, John P. St. john. Indiana
occupies the extreme skirmish line
of u Christian civilization in its
battle for the twin amendments
prohibition and woman's ballot If
carried simultaneously, these close
ly correlated measures will not
only capture the enemy's citadel
but garrison it with soldiers loyal
and invincible.
In Michigan, Massachusetts and
New York the dominant party pro-
nounces for the submission of the
prohibition amendment, while
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois
are in the throes of a struggle
whose final outcome will place
them in line with the most pro
gressive States. The defeat of the
Republican party in Ohio was a
foregone conclusion when it alien
ated the Germans by the Sunday
closing law and the Temperance
people..by committing itself square
ly to the license system. Natural
ly enough the former could not see
why it was wrong to drink on the