Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-05-29
MRS. vANDALIA vARNUM
Discussed Temperance at the Grand Oh
ara kiouge, Yesterday.


era house. Yesterday
Mrs. Vandalia Varnum, who has
national fame as speaker and advocate
of tenn perance, addressed large audi
ence at the Grand Opera House yester-
day afternoon.
This lady is strong speaker, impress
ing herself at once on her hearers by her
independent manner and energy. Inc
closest attention was paid her and eX-
pressions of approval were won from
the assemblage, in several OF Mrs. Var
NUNS most telling and appropriate sem
fences.
The singing was by the en- tire assem-
blage, and was led by DR.. Hattie Jones,
president of the White Cross Society Of
this city.
Mrs. Sisson, President of the State
w. G. It. o., led Ia prayer and intro
duced Mrs. Varnum in an appropriate
way, saying her fame was national, and
introducing her finally as journalist.
Ladies OF the local w. @. L. U. occu-
pied seats on the platform.
The speaker began by telling OF the
great age Of the cause of temperance,
and said the first period of the tight
was termed the era Of moral suasion.
She thought the present era should be
termed that Of legal suasion. She said
that it was once question whether In
temperance was a crime or not, but
that now IL was different. The speaker
then traced the advance Of the move
ment I'D to the present. In lSOS she
Il
some church conferences, 1t was dis
cussed whether a preacher should be
allowed to sell whisky or not, and that
the decision was left at that time for
him to sell. Later, at another church
assembly, the question of whether
preachers should be prohibited from
drinking during high church assem-
blages, came up. The conclusion was
then drawn. from the present and past
usages and rules, and turned into an
argument that temperance was making
greater progress than ever before.
The speaker said that in this State
seven-tenths Of the saloon-keepers are
foreigners; that they are persons who
do not know our ways, but come mere
and step into business in the most In
viting field open-the saloon, and that
New York city has enough saloons to
extend-each taking twenty feet space
"a distance of forty-seven miles. 1t
was also stated that Of the $4,000, 900
persons in the United States 5000, 900
are connected with the liquor traffic in
some form. 1t was also said that the
government makes yearly from the liq-
uor business 1922, 900, 900. The speaker
said that enough rum was being shipped
across the ocean To overcome all the
coed the combined forces of all the mis-
sionaries sent by the churches TO for
eign fields could do.
Mrs. Varnum, in touching way,
spoke OF some OF the soldiers homes OF
the country. She said that there were
very few of them that did not have q
salooon on the government grounds be-
side them. She cited one she had re-
Gently visited. 10 the rounds she visit
ed the saloon called the "Canteen. In
the outside room were seven old soldiers
drinking, seven more waiting and
twenty-three in the interior room drink
ing: also, she averred that in the
dead house were several old soldiers
dead, who had expired from drinking.
What we want" said the speaker, "is
a bi-chloride of gold treatment that will
make men right at the ballot box"
"Cowardice" was the term used to ex-
press the state OF persons who are slow
in advancing the temperance move
ment, and it was divided into business
ana criminal cowardice.
In several portions Of her address the
speaker grew very lrouical.
Miss Varnum impressed her hearer:
by her evident conviction that temper
ance would finally prosper.
Mrs. Vandalia Vsrnum lectured in
the Third Presbyterian Church, last
night, to large audience. The w. c. L,
c. attended in a body. The subject
was Temperance, and the address wa:
considered very excellent.