Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-03-02
THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT.
Miss frances f. willard RELATES How
IL Was Conceived In This Country
I'm 1SOS, Near Saratoga, \. Y.

mtetlnp Oh the oman \ CluD, MISS
Frances f. Willard told the story of The
nrst temperance meeting held in
tps United States. 1t was in 1908 and
w.sa gathering of teachers and preach
Ell. IN a country school-house in a little
town neal Saratoga n. Y. OF course,
no woman was present and Miss Will
lard thought it doubtful if the gentle
men present even mentioned the subject
which they had under advisement to
their wives and daughters IN 1886 a
national temperance convent lon was
held at Saratoga. At this convention
one woman was present Gov. Trum-
bel came down to attend the convention
and was accompanied by his yonng
daughter Eliza. She went with her
father to the convention hall. and, al
though when she discovered that she
was the only woman present she want
ed TO withdraw. her father insisted up
on her remaining.
Miss Willard spoke OF the Woman's
Christian Temperance union as it now
existed. tn a state or territorial
union in thirty-three states and terri
tories, as the result Of the sober sec.
ond thought of the crusade. She said
that the movement had been a perfect
illustration OF the law OF g~radualism,
and that the Woman's Christian Tenn
peran,e Union had been obliged, as is
each ind vidual, to make its own exper-
fence. Seeing the man in the gutter. it
began with this terrible object lesson,
and for years it used all its efforts to
raise such from their wretched. unman-
ned state. After wOrk.ng with all cour-
age. zeal, and faithfulness for a long
time in this direction they found. by
careful computation, that the proper
lion Of those who signed the pledge
who proved faithful to the obi CATION
they had taken were only about five
oct Of II hundred and fifty. 1t then
dawned upon them that the work which
would be permanently etiectual must
be prevention rather than cure. They
then began systematic work for chill
dren, first in the Sunday schools and
later in the public schools.
In speaking Of the early work Of the
Nat onal union Miss Willard said that
N'it VI ~ Ahtu u W a ibN W
dollars per wear at It's command. but
now it disbursed many thousand dol
lars n year, and also had a large and
thoroughly equipped publishing house.
What has been done has been ac-
complished by wit. wisdom. good
will. and an earnest endeavor TO show
why it was best to do certain things.
and by asking people if they would not
like 10 do them rather than by telling
them they must do them because of
their being right. Theirs had both
been in aim and accomplishment a
work, not of segregation but of unitica-
ton. And the organ cation. in advo-
eating uncompromising prob bition.
had been actuated by the knowled ge
which experience and actual observa-
ton had given them. and that this
knowledge had made it seem to them
that prohibition was the only course by
which to perform the duty of making
it easy for those about us TO do right"
Miss Willard further declared that she
believed any r~ight-mindcd person. sub
jected TO the same confluence of forces
which had operated upon them in their
work, would soon come TO the same
conclusion.
In response to the standing query.
does prohibition prohib t? she would
say does civil cation civllize; does edu-
cation enl ghten; does religion Christ
~iaAize, and does high license regulate?
To get at the correct answer of ques-
tions like these the trend of results
must DE taken. and the trend of prohib-
ition was most decidedly and incompar-
.lI- ~. -,
H. regard to intoxicants which had yet
been tested.
Miss Willard said that she was her
self constantly surprised at her in
finite power Of not knowing things
and she really did not see how it was
that II had taken her. and those work
ing with her, so long to see that the
powerful strenth Of the whisky evil was
in its alliance with the government.
She had p uclased a paper as she was
coming 10 the club rooms TO see the
price of whisky. If a year ago anyone
had told her that she would ever be
looking for the price of whisky she
would have repli ed: lis thy servant
q d e t a she should do such a thing?'
but hat 10 she was very interested in
the price of whisky, and that she had
found that upon that dav whisky was
81 05 per gallon, and that it was true
that the government received 80 cents
- his amount. Here. then. was the
government. with an overlooking treas
ury. protecting and collecting an exor-
b.tant tax on that which was not only a
deadly evil to its citizens, but was not
wealtb-produclng; only nm Investment.
Mss Willard approached the suffrage
question by saying that the National
union had not at first supposed they
could touch political questions even
with the tips of their fingers, but in
their evolution they had become OBJ
strnction ists. Us it were. and they were
now looking forward to a more direct
line Of action in governmental affairs.
That they believed that nothing so
broadened and ennobled a WON n as
taking hold of broad and ennoblng
subjects. and that nationally entered
upon granting the suffrage to women
would tend to lhe upl fling of the race.
That the saloon interests feared the
ballot in the hand of women as did all
vicious interests. smoke volumes for n.