The Portland daily press., 1886-10-02
TEMPERANCE SUNDAY.
October 18th Selected as the Day.

The object of the special meeting of the
w. c. I. U. yesterday afternoon was to con-
slider the observance of the Temperance Sum
day in conformity with the following call
from Miss Willard and Mrs. Buell.. 1t was
unanimously voted to request the pastors of
this city to cooperate with others through
out the country, in order that the day set
apart may be generally observed.
TO the Christian Public:
The temperance reform stands to-day s'up-
on the heights of answered prayer" The
arrest OF thought has come at last:
''The world is awake and its ear is set
Its lips are apart and its eyelidS wet"
No intelligent person now believes that
the liquor traffic will be much longer legal
lied by Christian nations. The watchWOrd
of the hour is: ''Outlaw the saloon-protect
the home" No influence has so largely con-
tributed to the present popular opinion as
the Sabbath School, and the religious press.
Next to these mighty agencies ranks that
sober second thought of the Ohio Crusade
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
local, state, national and now Worldwide
for 1t is regularly organized in every English
speaking nation, and recently introduced
into Japan, Scandinavia and Russia. This
society, wholly unSectarian in character but
made up of Christian women of all denomin-
atlons, is to-day the expression of that love
for the perishing and devotion to the triumph
Of Christ,s kingdom, which are the best
fruits of the church.
At its annual meeting held in Philadel-
phia, October, 1885, forty states and terrific
ries being represented by 300 duly accredited
delegates, a request came from % leading
pastors of the city, of nearly every denomin-
alton, among them Rev. DR.. Poor, secretary
of the Presbyterian Board of Education,
Rev. DR.. Wayland, editor of the National
Baptist, Rev. Drs. Wheeler and Swindells,
of the Methodist church,) that the conven-
ton designate certain Sobbath in each
year, to be known as Temperance Sunday"
throughout the world and the w. C. r. U.
exert its influence in all its local unions to
secure its observance in all churches.
These honored pastors urged the following
reasons, among others, for such action
believing your work to be closely related to
the work OF God as prosecuted by the Christian
churches, and that your organization and the
churches would be mutually strengthened by
close affiliation, we make this request. The
cause OF temperance, thus presented simultane-
ousy in all pulpits and Sunday schools, could not
tail to awaken q thrill of interest and emotion
throughout the world. And may we not believe
that such a volume of prayer as would go up
from the affairs Of the earth would be acceptable
TO the Lord our God and call down Oh our cause
the efficient energies of the Holy Ghost"
In compliance with this request and for
the reasons given, we earnestly and most
respectfully suggest to all pastors, Sunday
School superintendents and temperance
societies, that Oct. 18th, the Sabbath pre-
ceding the twelfth annual meeting of the
NationalW w. c. Il. U. at Minneapolis, Min
nesota, be observed as Temperance Sabbath
by sermons in the morning.
Earnestly praying that pastors and people
may be plenteously replenished with Heaven
ly grace, we are, on behalf of the National
w. G I. u, your Christian sisters:
FRANCES e. WILLARD,
President.
Mrs. G. B. BUELL.,
Correspondent Secretary.
Headquarters National w. G. T. u, Chi
cago, Sept /, 1886.