The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-09-24
THE woMEN's UNION.
Annual Meeting and Election Of the
Portland Branch.

The annual meeting Of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union of Portland
was held Friday afternoon. There was
good attendance Of members The yearly
reports were presented and accepted. Miss
Cornelia M. Dow. corresponding secretary,
made an able and interesting report, Of
which the following is an abstract;
sEcRETARY's REPORT.
Our work has been enlarged by opening
new lines in various departments, following
always the plan OF national and State
The new departments have been that of
Peace and Arbitration. This work Is by
nature quiet and slow, because the nature Of
man rebels against such an adjustment Of
affairs. Peace literature has been distributed
In various places and furnished at Y. NJ. @.
A. rooms.
The Franchise Department Is also new In
| this line we have co-operated with the al
ready existing and well organized Woman's
| Suffrage S0cietS Of this city. At public
meeting OF said society in City Hall, ad-
| dressed by Mrs. Wallace, national w. @. L.
| u, superintendent Of franchise, our local
| form.
Our superintendent OF Sunday school work
has heard from every Sunday school In the
city. save Episcopal and Catholic, and finds
that the quarterly temperance lesson is but
occasi 'onally used, and In most cases entire
ly ignored, as Is also all other temperance
instruction. The Gospel Mission Sunday
school is notable exception. In that they
always used the quarterly temperance lesson,
the entire school Is pledged TO total absti-
nence, and many lectures on the subject
The work among soldiers and sailors has
been mostly among the latter. in distributing
our literature on outgoing vessels and In the
boarding houses. The superintendent circu-
nrinfad IQffQra md et.~a
among the G. A. r. Posts and Relief
Corps, but in no instance has received any
response.
The Friendly Inn is one OF our oldest de-
partments, and Is now, as it ever has been, a
temporary home for the f0rlorn and homeless
and the penniless stranger in our midst; 100
have been accommodated there during the
last year.
The jail work has been prosecuted with
yig0r, our committee being present every
Sabbath, distributing reading matter. hold
ing personal conversation with every prison.
er and doing much outside work In the
families, for the children, the sick and the
dying. and and In ways unreportable doing what
livelihood these outcasts Of our city.
Our police matr0u work, which we have al
ways considered the most important, as Is
well known to the public, closed May 1st
The means by which the change was brought
about, our efforts TO retain the work, and the
hearty cooperation Of our citizens in our ef-
forts TO this end are too fresh In our mem
ories to need repetition. Up to that time
there had been III women and children at
the police station. Most OF these women
were arrested for intoxication, many Of them
were old offenders, regular attendants at
court, and the number Is so rapidly increas-
Ing that soon there will be enough to make 1t
worth while for the State to establish re-
tormatory prison, which, with woman's per-
sistence, we still declare necessity.
we cannot estimate, we cannot detail to
you the work Of our matron among these III
Offenders. Every morning she met those
who were brought in at night; II they were
to go in court, ,imade them decent for that;
went with them; II discharged, looked after
them in their homes; by advice and in many
other ways looked ont for them and was re-
sponsib.e to us for her care OF them. At
night also she went, and this. we considered,
a very important part of her duty. for thus
she was sure OF seeing every woman arrest
ed. That the city does not require the same
OF the present matron Is In our judgment one
OF the great moral losses in this work. Some
OF these arrests for first offense and not
brought before the court are thus lost sight
Of by the matron, and the word of warning
and help missed Is a moral point lost.
Some OF these drinking women could be in
duced TO sign the pledge, and our matron
never sent one off alone. but went with her
TO the priest, witnessed the signature and
week after week, year by year, followed up
the case. Think you not this watchfulness
was worth mucn 10 tne INDIVIDUAL and 10 the
city, In one person thus kept from drink?
Twice during the post year our matron
has remained all night at the station TO nurse
sick woman, and In one instance to care
for the new life thus unfortunately begun.
The second case was since May 1, at the re-
quest Of the husband of the woman whom
she took to her own home after twenty-four
hours at the station.
Mrs. Raymond Is still retained as agent of
the society. and frequent calls come to head
quarters for advice in the case of a wayward
child, or help that such woman can give
She still makes calls as usual at the Jail and
house Of correction and Greedy Hospital, aud
cares for the various cases that came under
her notice during the seven years Of faithful
service as police matron. Eleven children
were sent to the Industrial School prior to
May 1st, and four women to the Temporary
Home