Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-11-27
Miss PheIps' Address.

The temperance address at the Metho-
dist church last Monday evening, by Miss
Lillian NJ. Phelps, of st. GATHERINGS, On
tario, was one long to be remembered.
Miss Phelps is graduate of the National
School Of Elocution and Oratory, and is
as fine speaker as we have listened to for
many day. The best of it is. every word
she uttered is true and no man can sue
cessfully contradict it. Her subject was
"The Modern Sphinx" and in treating it,
she showed wide and varied knowledge
of ancient and modern history, law, medi
cine, theology, moral reforms and general
events. The modern sphinx is. Of course,
the liquor traffic, into whose stony eyes
and dark, stern, pitiless face we are all
obliged to look, and become appalled, at
what we see there. Slavery and the liquor
traffic in this country are alike in this:
from the first they have existed only by
compromise with wrong. Slavery was the
less evil of the two. for it had its Mason
and Dixons line, beyond which the trade
in human beings could not 60; and the
fugitive slave saw in the north star hang
ing over Canada the Star of Bethlehem,
toward which he stealthly pursued his
weary way; but the liquor traffic has no
Mason and Dixons line which circum-
scribes its dominion, and no north star to
guide wives and children, the innocent
victims of the liquor traffic, to freedom and
happiness. The question of the suppress
sion Of the saloon is one of the greatest
moment. 1t has come to stay. and will
not down al cur bidding. The liquor sell
ers are becoming aggressive and We must
either control their traffic or they will GO IL
troll us. Already they have threatened to
boycott the church if il opposes them, and
in some instances, as in the case OF the
Rev. Mr.. Haddock, have foully murdered
those who opposed their nefarious traffic
10 work for the suppression OF this gigan-
tic wrong has the W. {. L. L. come into
existence. Already it has spread all over
the United States and the Dominion OF
Canada, made its way TO England, ireland
and Scotland, crossed the channel and
ovcrspread continental Europe stretched
away into southern Africa and chartered
wind, wave and steam to bear it onward to
distant Australia, New Zealand, Japan and
the isles of the ocean. For long wears H.
ccnse has been tried in the hope that it
would stay the evil of the traffic, but every
where and every time il has been found 4
conspicuous failure We cannot license.
We cannot with impunit, compromise with
wrong. Prohibition sustained prohibition
enforced, is only hope In stirring.
eloquent language the speaker told how
Garrison and Phillips, determined never
To compromise with evil, had been dcfaui-
cd and prosecuted by their contempom-
rles, and how, to-day. the world treasures
their deeds and memoric. a, sacred trust.
Her description, too, OF the Memorial Day /
services which she witnessed in Buffalo, /
was touchingly eloquent, a. she described /
what She saw there, and told, with match. /
less oratory, how thousands o; Union sol |.
dcrs sleep to-day III Southern Soil. and I
other thousands are MANNED, broken IN
health and prematurely old, because our
fathers in the long ago compromised with .
wrong. Reforms never 20 backward The f.
Temperance cause i sure to win in the end .
God has power 10 settle the question, and .
He. IN His own good way and time, Viii 4
settle it right