Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1885-02-04
For the SPECTATOR.
Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
"Rescue the perishing,

AsSSSeS
Care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave:
Weep DER the erring one,
Lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus. the mighty to save"
To the Women of our land is committed
the overthrow of Intemperance. As they
are deeply interested in and largely affect
ed by it, and alike the most indefatgable
workers for the success of any enterprise
which benefits humanity, they are the sur
est to accomplish the grandest results. Be-
sides, there is no influence so strong, no en-
ergy so tireless, no persuasion so potent,
no words so winning, no argument SO con-
vinciDg as Woman's, hence their peculiar
fitness for the mighty impending conflict.
The efforts of all Temperance orders are
laudable and commendable, but especially
to the Woman's Christian temperance
Union does the world to-day owe its grad
ual disenthrallment from the accursed
chains of Intemperance, which link by link
they are separating and setting the captive
spirits free!
These noble women brave every danger,
face every foe, spend their time, sacrifice
their comfort, and exhaust their strength,
to redeem the drunkard and assist the
struggling.
Every hour their gentle yet unrelenting
influence for good is being felt. Day after
day some new enactment, moulded through
the potency of their efforts, puts whiskey
under fresh restraints, lessons its sale, and
decreases its consumption. Upon every
zephyr of the whispering winds is borne tie
glorious news that some soul has been
snatched by their willing hands from the
kissing maelstrom of Intemperance, and set
upon the road to God and heaven!
They go to the conflict, not as an army with
emblazoned banners and tinkling cynbars,
but in the calm dignity born Of the virtue,
purity, and loveliness of their christian
characters, conquering as they go-con-
verting the rum-cursed hovel into homo
IF peace and happiness! Pressing forward
in their God-given mission, battling with
drunkenness and sin-putting their hearts
into the ponderous work to lift up pros
trate nation. Valiant and fruitful labor
ers for the advancement of Gods kingdom
conspicuous heroines in the great life
struggle of Moral Reform!
| Once enlist woman's love and sympa-
thy in your behalf, and you secure the
strongest help known to earth, outside Of
| GoI nd fnr &c NJ
degradation, no degree of depravity, no
helpless condition of human woe which she
will not enter to "weep o er the erring one,"
Gift up the fallen," and 'rescue The per.
ishing."
Never halting or hesitating in her onward
course-neither the scorn of the wicked
nor the scoffs of the uDgodly ever move her
one iota from her chosen path, but clinging
with desperate tenacity to the cause she
has espoused, looks unto God alone for
success, deliverance, and reward
As there is no affection so warm, no care
so tender, no devotion so true, no love so
divine as Woman's, they are gradually mas
tering this savage monster, drink, and as
they are constantly welding all the COM
bined forces of their angelic natures against
the huge structure of Intemperance it must
crumble, and though it only decays, piece
by piece, yet, finally, it must fall. and in
its destruction all nations will be blessed,
and angels, catching up the reverberating
echoes of the mighty crash, will herald
throughout the coming ages the banefcent
glory of Woman's power.
Can the cause of Temperance when nur-
tured, advocated, and defended by such
beings, fail? Nay, verify, the result Of
their labors will wreathe the universe with
joy, and their holy work Will be bymned by
succeeding generations as memorial unto
them, and around their graves will cluster
the honor of the grandest victories that
ever crowned the most valiant warrior WAC
marched beneath the sparkling arch of hu-
man achievements
P. A. ROSS.
STAUNToN, VA, 1885.