The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1894-06-21
THE WOMAN's CHRISTIAN TEN
PERANcE UNION---ITS WORK
AND AIMS.

The Woman's Temperance crusade
in 1873, led to the organization of the
society known as the Woman's Christ
ian temperance Union. This crusade
was carried on by women, especially
in the central states, who engaged in
prayer daily and went to visit tho sa-
looms and plead personally with the
saloon keeper, and by prayer and song
influence him to abandon his wicked
work. The results We're wonderful.
Saloons were closed, and whole towns
were made free from The curse. But
the first steps toward organization
were taken at the Sunday School AS
semhly at Chautauqua, n, Y, in Aug.
1874, when the fervor of the past few
months took permanent form, and the
expressed purpose of the organization
from the beginning was the redemp
ton of the land from the curse of in
temperance.
The preamble to first plan of work
states, by dispensation of the Divine
Ruler the women of the nation have
been set apart as the apostles of the
temperance gospel. Women may
stand in the vanguard of this great
movement until the whole public is
changed from the superstitious no
ton that alcohol is food to the sci
entific fact that alcohol is poison,
from the concession that sIntemper-
ance is a great evil, to the conviction
that the liquor traffic is crime"
Through the years the plans Of the
society have broadened and matured.
1t embraces the National, State and
Local Unions, and has a membership
of over 100000 women of all denomi-
nations and races. It has been or
ganized in every state and territory
of our land and locally in about 10000
towns and cities.
The lines of work first taken up
were the creation of public sentiment
by addresses, teaching in Sunday
schools, public schools, the power of
the press, Juvenile temperance soci
cites, circulation of the pledges, estab-
lishment of gospel temperance meet
ings, Temperance coffee rooms. With
the broadening of the work new de-
partments were added till the present
number of the lines of work are forty
one. In our state there are now 23S
local unions and 80 lodges of w. c..
T. US. The union in Morris has been
organized about 10 years. Our meet
ings are held once in two weeks, on
Tuesday afternoon, to which all ladies
are invited and welcomed. We have
had on an average during three years
II active members and 6 honorary
members. We have taken up eight
different lines of work, among them
the flower mission, care for poor and
needy, jail work, depot work, gospel
temperance meetings and Juvenile
temperance work. At our meetings
we report work done since last meet
ing and report new cases to be looked
after, consult in regard to new meth
DDS, have readings either from the
prepared Bible readings or especially
selected matter for use in w. G. T. u.
meetings. At present we are reading
from "Glimpses of 80 Years" and
"Miss Frances Wizards Autobiog-
raphy." r =
In 1892, $86 was raised by our union
for general work; this year since Aug.
LIST our receipts have been $3.50; of
this SIS % was donated; 1888 received
from gospel temperance meetings.
We have used $11 of this in sending
our state paper, The White Ribbonef,
to members and friends of the union;
also $40 sent to Temperance Temple
and $500 TO Relief Fund.
The only requisites for membership
in the w. G. T. u. are, signing the
constitution and total abstinence
pledge and paying membership fee,
which in our union is ST. per member
Now let us glance at some of the
achievements this society OF our land
has made during the twenty years
which have passed since its organiza-
ton. The church, home and public
schools have been permeated with
right thinking and true science, on the
great question of total abstinence and
prohibition. It's auxiliaries have been
the chief factors in state campaigns
for statutory prohibition and consti-
tutional amendment. 1t began the
movement for scientific temperance
instruction in the public schools and
has been instrumental in securing
laws to that end in all but ten states,
and thus the children of America are
regularly taught the effects of alcohol
and other narcotics on the human sys-
tenn. 1t is arousing public sentiment
by it's steady advance upon the press
through monthly and weekly publ
cations, through its lecture bureau
and countless conventions.
The work of the society among
children in Sunday schools, in loyal
temperancelegi and kindergartcns,
it's evangelistic work for non-church
goers, for soldiers, sailors, lumbermen,
especially fol- drinking men of all
classes, have proved its earnestness
and zeal. It's efforts to reach pauper
and prisoner, to establish reformato-
ries and homes for victims of inebriety
and its temperance flower mission
must appeal to every heart It has
circulated countless petitions, address
ed conferences, teachers associations,
as well as legislatures, with the plea,
"We beseech you to refrain from the
use of alcoholics and outlaw the liquor
traffic" 1t has built at a cost of
ST., 100000 the great Temperance Tenn
pie in Chicago, this great sum being
given by friends and societies all over
this and foreign lands. 49,
The w. G. T. U. has won name
which has gone to the ends of the
earth as a synonym for what is pure
and good. Its call has gone to all
civilized lands, and a worlds w. G..
T. u. is the result, which has organi-
cations in Japan, Africa, China, Scan
dinavia, Australia and Sandwich Is