The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-10-02
w. q. Il. U.
For God and Home and Native Land -
CThis column IL edited by the Press Commit.
lee Of the w. C. T.. ". OF MankatO.
The Ninth Annual Convention of the
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union OF Minnesota.

lee Of the W. q. r. u. OF Mankat0.
The Ninth Annual Convention of the
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union OF Minnesota.
The convention convened at Plymouth
church IN st. Paul on the morning oil
Sept. 22nd, with ninety-one delegates IN
attendance. The pulpit platform had
been most beautifully ornamented with
growing plants, which with cut flowers
here and there gave to the large audi
ence room an attractive appearance.
Devotional exercises were conducted
by Mrs. ii. A. Hobart, president of the
state organization, after which the con-
yention was called to order, and Mrs. ID.
j. Hayward, of st. Cloud, the secretary,
called the roll Of state officers.
| The matter Of raising special fund
during the year for state organization,
was discussed and laid over until the
4 afternoon session.
The fund raised iir Minnesota-Sl20,
for establishing II national German pa
per, was ordered placed at interest un-
| I'll such paper be established.
Committees were then appointed on
resolutions, credentials, memorials, and
| finance.
The hour for conservation meeting
had now arrived, and was led by Mrs.
| Lydia Clark, of Mortified, her subject
being Coincidence and faith in God, I"
which was followed by an interesting
season of prayer and song.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The service was opened with devotion
ri exercises conducted by Mrs. a. Crcs-
sy, of WnnebagO City.
Mrs. Wright, corresponding secretary,
read very interesting report: The
| work of the year had been prosecuted
! under more than ordinarily trying cir
cumstances. The greater number of our
| members have learned therein the
truth of the assertion, that weak good
ness never did, and never will, over
come resolute evil, as they have met
with persistent and organized opposi-
ton. The organization of Christian
women, however, stands iirmer than
ever before, and is making an aggressive
fight. Prayers or pleadings will never
suffice for weapons; but organization,
firm and unyielding, with moral and
legal suasion, and persistence in the
many lines of educational work, will III
timately enable us to plant the banner
of prohibition on the dome of every
state capital i'm the Union. The flames
are being kindled and famed by the
breath of prayer, and there is Il better
| development of public sentiment on the
temperance question i'm the state. There
are ut present fOir county and ninety
four local unions. There are young ln-
dies unions in Minneapolis, st. Paul,
st. Cloud, Winona, Hastings, Red Wing
and Langdon. Eight unions have read
ing rooms. There are three temperance
schools, and cold water army, one
Daniels band, and twenty-five Bands
of Hope. Number of church societies,
$50. Nearly all the English speaking
and foreign churches, except the Epis-
copal, Catholic and Lutheran, use un-
fermented wine at sentimental services.
Thirty-five unions reports Sunday
schools, using the temperance lessons.
In most places where there are jaIls Cos
pei temperance services are held, and
temperance literature distributed.
Twenty-seyen unions report temperance
text books used in one or more grades
of the public schools; six unions use the
national course of reading; seven have
a loan library, 81, 346 pages of temper
ance literature have been distributed;
seventeen unions circulate the pledge
at public meetings; seventeen maintain
a temperance column i'm local papers.
Population of cities, towns, and villages
where unions exist, 3l3, 63; number Of
saloons reported therein, ,227, of which
600 are in st. Paul. Am punt of money
raised for local work, ~, 40; tax paid to
state union, 1897 .93; tax to the national
society, Sal; paid into state treasury for
German paper fund, Sl05; to the Mrs.
Leavitt fund, $52.l6; to temperance
booth at New Orleans, $3.50; to Scandi-
navian work. and other purposes, S72;
total, $5,l70.35. Reports of presidents
of county and district societies were
presented and showed great progress
during the past year, and hopeful out
look for the year to come.
Miss Eva Mcintyre, state superintend-
ent of the Union S,gndi, of Chicogo, the
nationa, organ of the union, presented
its claims, and clearly set forth how
necessary this paper was in union.
Mrs. Bixby also presented the claims
| of the Rerier, our own state paper.
Mrs. Human, of Iowa, gave u descrip-
ton of the perfect working of the union
| in that state, where it is aided by pro-
| hibitory and statutory laws. The selling
of liquor was effectually cleared ont of
the country towns. Ii was to some ex-
tent sold i'm cities, so also was there muir
ders committed, also robberies, thus
violating the law. Organization must
| do tins work in Minnesota, as i'm Iowa,
and she was glad To see how thoroughly
her sisters i'm this state were planning
their work and carrying il ont As her
! home was near the Minnesota line she
| had known many cases where liquor
could not be obtained ut home, men, and
BOYS even, would come into some Min
nesota town, get drunk, and go home To
their wives and mothers. She appealed
| to the women of Minnesota to remove
this curse, to make their state so free of
this wlckedness, that her own state sis
tiers could feel that their dear ones were
as safe i'm visiting Minnesota as when
within their own state boundary.
Mrs. Curry Knox, of Red Wing, en-
gagged by the state union rs m organizer
| for the present year, made short adj
dress She will in the coming year visit
all portions of the state To organize UNI
ions, receive contributions, make add
dresses and do general temperance
work. BY this means and the united
work of the unions, the president said,
it was hoped To double our numbers
and membership the coming year.
EVENING SESSION.
| The devotional exercises were led by
Rev. DIR. Dana, pastor of Plymouth
church. after which he spoke u few earn
est words of welcome and sympathy i'm
the work.