West Virginia freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1881-1886, 1886-01-13
INVADING THE SOUTH.
Prohibition Speakers Everywhere
Welcomed.

WolCOmou.
The following is from lengthy
letter by A. A. Hopkins, one OF the
able speakers, filling Southern
appointments under the National
Prohibition Lecture Bureau. Mr..
Hopkins tells of most enthusiastic
meetings at many points, but we
shall only give you the closing
of this most encouraging report
Writing from North Carolina, he
says:
Last Friday night I spoke in
New Garden, where is located the
Friends College-or, as they more
modestly term it, the Friends
School. 1t outranks, | am told,
any other Friends institution in
the South. And their faculty and
students are 80 heartily and un-
animously for party Prohibition
that the latter made up little
purse in aid of the work, and pre-
sented it through one of their own
mum Der at the close of my speech.
Where could that happen at the
North?
l learn that Monday evening,
after Brother Mead had spoken at
New Garden, they moved right out
for local party organization; and
there is another Friends meeting
of large size, thirty miles from
here, where a speech is desired,
and where like organization will
as promptly be made.
At Greensboro, where nv head
quarters has been, and which is the
chief railway center of the State,
our movement is taking strong
hold. Sunday afternoon | spoke
for the third time there and Ben
bow Hall was crowded with such
an audience as never had been
there for Temperance before, save
when The convention met. In
days past the church people have
largely held aloof, and even the W.
C. t. U. has had little church re-
cognition. Ispoke under the auspi-
ces of the Union, and DR.. Smith,
Presbyterian pastor, presided. He
has been opposed to woman's work
and his known opposition and his
great local influence, have handi-
capped the Unions effort. That
he should at last yield public
endorsement is gratifying; and |
was glad enough for their sake to
forgive all the more cheerfully his
manifest wish not to appear as
endorsing me! 1t was Sunday and
1 had become we'll recognized as a
political Temperance advocate, and
he probably feared that I would
preach party politics. Whereas [
only argued for prohibition, and
against license.
But before colored audience the
next night in Brother Grandison's
church, | made up for such party
silence, and at the Court House in
this city, last evening, before
crowd of whites, my party argu-
ments were plainly put, and The
New Issue was declared without
fear or favor. 1t was an excellent
meeting that Brother Mead and I
had here, and its impression appear
ed to be deep and abiding, Char
lotte, let me say is the home of
Senator Vance, and a political
center. 1t is intensely Democratic,
Its daily paper, the Observer, is the
best in the State. and though
favoring prohibition as a moral
question four years ago, opposes it
now as political question. Its
editorial claim of yesterday, that
this is only a moral issue, | think
had complete refutation last night !;
and its claim of Saturday last, that
this party movement would hurt
the Democratic party was answered
by me in letter which the editor
kindly published yesterday. Per-
haps this little controversy between
us had something to do with call
ing out the large crowd; but Cap.
tam Vail had worked nobly to
secure it, and deserves much credit.
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