Mississippi leader., 1892-11-17
THE ANNUAL ADDRESS.
President wiIIard's Speech to the Nation
al Convention.


Living Issues of the Day Forcibly Pre-
sented-the Departmental Work of
the w. c. t. U.
The annual address of President
Frances E. Willard to the National w.
C.T.U. in convention this morning re
semhled message of the president of
the United States in at least one feat
ure-its length. The address was
about 25,0OO words long and was most
exhaustive in its analysis of the work
of the past and the outlines of the
future. Following is synopsis cover
ing the most important parts OF the
address:
Looking out over the great world
picture where humanity struggles
against the dragon in Gods name, we
see that white banner lifted in gentle
hands, is at the very center of the on
moving force. Our flag is there
Thank God.
'We want what every church and
philanthropic movement has wanted
since the world began, and this is pow
or. 1t is the one cry-'giye us power.
The engine is useless to the engineer
until its valves are filled with steam.
At all events, until the splendid engine
of the w. c. T. u. is filled with those
manifestations of God in Jesus Christ,
that we call the Spirits power, it
stands idle on the track, no matter how
we'll that track is ballasted, nor how
strong the steel of its straight road.
Power-we know what it is-we have
had tive have it still-we may have
more of it just for the asking, we may
have all of it that we will. God grant
us power from on high.
HOME FOR DRUNKARDS.
What we need beyond ali things else
is "a crusade for total abstinence; there
are still too many people among us who
twang away on their one Paganini
string, saying, God made alcohol
with a reiteration that may have
seemed wearisome | have insisted for
many years that our state unions ought
to petition their legislatures to build
homes for men who are under the
drink hallucination and to pass laws
compelling the detention of drunkards
within these friendly walls where work
should be provided for them. Nothing
less than this will help us over the
emergency of drunkenness.
WOMEN AND DRINK.
1t is an astonishing fact that 1878
women have been arrested in the
streets of London within the last year
for being what the police call drunk
and disorderly.' The worst of it is that
this number does not at all reveal the
actual enormity of the situation, for it
is almost wholly the lower classes that
these figures represent. The secret
drinking of the most aristocratic classes
swells still further the pitiable army,
wholly from the mother sex, who are
giving themselves to the devil through
the voluntary insanity of alcohol. The
cry is now In England that the govern
ment must establish refugees for its
women drunkards.
SCIENTIFIC CURES.
"Again ! reiterate that the white
ribboners are among the most earnest
helpers of such scientific cures as COM
mend themselves by their results. We
are held from the specific Endorsement
of any, because there are several so
similar and among them there is such
vigorous rivalry that we do not deem it
wise to take sides.
at seems to me that it would be well
to establish an institution of our own
entirely superior in it's motive to any
of those just referred to because its
income over and above expenses would
be used in the prosecution of our tenn
perance work, and the entire manage
ment would be in the hands of compe-
tent women physicians who were phil
anthropists as well as specialists.
PROHIBITION.
ssThere is no object that we white
Iaci fS,, hot aYNh
upon the brain of every voter as the
American saloon. The most pcrtent-
GUS factor in American politics is the
saloon. We want the saloon photo
graphed with this shadow in the pict-
ure. Whoever speaks of it as an isolat-
ed institution, speaks ignorantly. 1t
is an institution the character of which
becomes each year more clearly defin-
ed, and one that, because of our form
of government, exposes us more than
any other people to political corrup-
ton. Because these things are true
the temperance women of America
have gone into politics, and have taken
sides with the men who first, last, and
all the time cast their ballots against
candidates for Office who are pledged
to the saloon.
SIT is idle to say that the Prohibition
movement is not one of continual
progress. We admit that we have pass
ed the stage of enthusiasm and are
now advancing with the sturdy steps
of veterans. The province of Manito-
( be- by plebiscite has recently declar-
ed by large majority in favor of pro-
hibition. and its next legislature is
practically certain to pass law to that
effect, South Carolina has shown its
colors in similar fashion, though by a
different method, and is likely to be
the next state falling into line for free
dom from the sway of the saloon.
.The question is often asked, Why
has net Wyoming, the Only free state