The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-12-30
W. G. I. U. COLUMN.
The Hour For Action.

helo VI INC W. ". l. W. 'lH6y seem TO
have drifted somehow away from their
main purpose, the object for which they
were first organized, and are doing more
distinctly the work which the church
should do, and thus have not the power
and success as an opponent OF the liquor
traffic which they otherwise might have.
They use time and energy and means in
mission and reformatOry work which is
especially the work of the church and so
do not concentrate their forces upon the
one objective point. There is too much
division of effort"
! 1t may be said In reply, that our whole
object and all our labors lie strictly with
in the province of Christian endeavOr and
church work, and if the church had been
alive to her responsibility, had faithfully
performed her whole duty, the causes
which led to the wOman's crusade would
not have existed and the Woman's Christ
ian Temperance Union need never have
been organized,
/ Granted, for the sake of argument but
the fact remains incontrovertible that the
church has not done her whole duty, else
had the liquor traffic never attained the
attitude of today or laid defling and
controlling hand upon the social and po-
litical life of the nation Consequently the
w. G. T. U. is here; she is here to stay,
and her chief purpose, the object of her
life, the mission for which she was born,
is the annhillatiOn of the liquor traffic.
To this end, therefore, ought she TO bend
all her energies; around this central point
must she mass all her forces; she must
not allow herself to be distracted or in
Inundated by flank movements or false
alarms, nor by an avalanche of hostile crit
icism, concerning the unwisdOm or una
Variability of her plan of attack. She must
not be badgered into falling back, nor halt
ing, nor weakening her onslaught upon the
center because Of the cry from certain quar-
tiers that she has "given up her gospel work
and gone into politics."
1t is the liquor traffic she is fighting, and
wherever she finds her enemy there she
must strike; she cannot pick or choose her
ground; if she finds her enemy entrenched
in politics, defended by the strong arm Of
the government, hiding behind social Gus
toms or lurking in the church, there she
must strike, and strike to kill regardless of
the cutlery and confusion which will follow
the blow; follow closely and expose what
ever protection shields him. Divorce the
liquor traffic from the government, and let
it stand concentrated and alone against the
forces of w. c. Il. U. reform.
We do not decry multiplication of de-
partment work: all are needed, but the
greatest need is mighty massing offor, es
at the central point. Let the word 90 all
along our lines that we are to make a de-
termined assault upon the enemies center
leave all impediments at the rear; close all
ears to the cries of the fearful or the grum-
bling or the disaffected, and drown the
SCOTS and jeers of our adversaries with a
mighty shout, "Forward,"; let every hill.
top blaze with the signal fires; let the
watch-wOrd fly from mouth to mouth
'the W. G. Z. u. expects every woman
to do her duty"
You may say, "Good enough perhaps IL
theory, but how dO you propose to carry il
out, and when?"
The time is now. The method substan
TALLY and very briefly, this: Let every
individual white-ribboner declare herself
to be uncOmpromisingly unrelentingly
committed to the determination of thu
liquor traffic. To that end let her refus
to cOuntenance the traffic in any way; lie
her withdraw her custom from any groc
er or any merchant who deals in the vii
stuff, and let him understand plainly he
reason for doing so; let her assure herSel
: that the church at whose altar she bows il
loving memory of Christ, furnishes Onl,
the pure juice of the grape to her cOmun
icants. If she be an employer let her EN-
= plOy only total abstinence employees; lie
U her crrry out methOdical plan Of outlaw
Il ry against the sale and use of intOXlcant
+ and a complete system of nO-cOmmerc
with the unclean thing as far as reaching
/ and controlling, as far as her own inhuenc
u and personality can extend.
II Moreover, let her waste no time in di:
n cussing plans for suppression" or ''reg
ulation'' of the traffic, nor in listening
elaborate arguments as to who has don
the most for our cause in the past. How
e ever this may be, the liquor traffic is sti
s here and practically unsurpassed, an
f apparently irrepressible. 1t is more agg
s ressive, more blatant, more defiant tina
d ever; determined to defy the law, subver
s order, outrage decency, invade the home
p crush woman, debauch childhood. degrad
Vt manhood, in short, determined to conque
II at any price, even though the price be tn
IS life of the nation.
White-ribbOners, work as though thi
is were the last opportunity and this the da
IS for the final decision don't dawdle, don
l. tri1e, don't whine, don't shirk, don
l. dodge, don't fret, don't show the whit
@ feather, but put on the white ribbon
g stay, ana if you must be a martyr to tn
IS cause die in the front ranks, with you
d face to the foe, triumphant in the though
r, that "tis martyrdom today brings victor
l. tomorrow"
re Let every woman give now of her tim
N her influence, her means, for the accom-
n plishment of the great purpose for whic
in we are enlisted. Let her make her hon
Of an arsenal where can be found all weapon