The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-04-18
Non-Partiaan w. C. II. u.
The Pittsburgh Pa.) Commercial Ga

The Pittsburgh Pa.) Commercial Ga
zette of April 9th says:
Mrs. Florence G. Porter of Winthrop.
Me. one of the National Secretaries OF
the Non-Partisan W. C. L, II. sends a
pithy reply to published statements ac-
credited to Miss Francis Willard during
the recent visit of that lady in this city.
During the address of Miss Willard in
the Smithfield ST. M. E. church. the lady
said that the W. G. T. U. would stand by
any party that would give prohibition,
in illustration, among other state, claim
ing that with the Republican party for
prohibition in Maine, that the w. C. Il.
u. stood ready to endorse and uphold
it.
Mrs. Porter writes:
''The only way to judge an organiza-
ton is by official utterances and resolu-
tions passed in state and county conven-
tons. No doubt some individuals in the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
stand by the Republican party because of
its attitude towards the prohibition of
the liquor traffic in our state, but when
the political question came into the work
OF the National Woman's Christian Tenn
perance Union, the Maine state union
was one of the first auxiliaries to follow
the lead of Miss Willard, and at the first
convention assembled after the National
w. z. L. U. Endorsed a political party, it
indorsed,, also. by large majority, the
same resolutions. Each succeeding
year these resolutions were extremely
partisan, the following one which was
adopted at Auburn in 1887 being fair
sample:
Ptesole'ed. That we pledge our warmest SYM
patnles. cur prayers and influence to the one
parry mat has the purpose and we firmly be-
neVe VIII nave the power to root out the dram
Party.
All official utterances, resolutions and
influences of the Womans Christian
temperance Union of Maine have been
OF this partisan nature, and it has never
sought to influence voters to vote for
weli-known advocates of prohibition, and
tried and true temperance men, when
such We're the candidates of the Republi-
can party, but on the contrary has OPP
posed them. Their one charge against
the Non-Partisan Woman's ChristianTem-
perance Union is that it is in the interest
OF the Republican party. The Non-Par-
tisan NFoman's Christian Temperance
Union of Maine believes that tenn
perance organization composed OF
WoHtH Oh uJiereHI fpOuIlcal 1alunS
should give Endorsement to no party
even though that party may be as
firm in its position ON the question of
prohibition as is the Republican party OF
Maine. The strength and support Oh the
prohibition laws in this State have un-
doubtedly been in the Republican party,
but. there are also good temperance men
in the Democratic party. The non par
tisan temperance movement does not be-
lieve in pledging influence or support to
either of these parties, and it is thus in a
position to ask the sympathy and inter
est OF the temperance men in both par
ties. But even if the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union had stood by the
Republican party in Maine, which it's
history does not show to be the case. the
non-partisan element would still have
commended that it was wrong in principle
and disastrous in results