Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1895-01-01
THE FIRST CRUSADE.
Temperance Sympathizers Hold
an Anniversary Meeting.

All anniversary McctluSs
The twenty-first anniversary o.
the "Ohio crusade" was celebrat
ed yesterday afternoon in the Wo'
mans Council Hall by the local
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union with appropriate exercises.
Mrs. Abernethy presided and
stated in brief address the OBJ
ject of the gathering. She said;
"All over the civilized world to-
day, temperance women are cele-
brating the twentyfirst anniver-
sary of that memorable December
day in 1878. On that day a lit
tie band of Christian women walk
ed, two and two, out of an old
Presbyterian Church in Southern
Ohio, singing, Give to the Winds
Thy Fears Trusting alone in
the God of Jacob, they went forth
to battle against the greatest foe
of the home, the saloon. That
band numbers today more than
100000. In behalf Of the band
at Memphis, l welcome you this
afternoon.
Rev. DR.. John A. Brooks was
called upon and offered fervent
prayer.
Mrs. Lide Meriwether was in
troduced in happy manner by
Mrs. Abernethy, and spoke for
an hour on the progress the tenn
perance movement has made in
the past two decades.
Back of the speaker was a life
sized crayon portrait of Miss Will
lard, the national president of the
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. All about the picture on
the dark background were sprays
of holly filed with bright scarlet
berries.
Mrs. Meriwether began by tell
ing of the wonderful effect of the
crusade, which lasted only fifty
days. but spread over several
States. In $50 towns the saloons
were closed, and crime was very
materially reduced and morality
increased. That was twenty one
years ago. Out of that move
ment grew the Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union, which
numbers now nearly 400, 900 in
the United States alone. About
half this number have taken the
triple pledge of abstinence from
alcoholic liquors, narcotics and
from all coarse, vulgar or pro
fame language.
Ten years ago Mrs. Mary H.
Hunt of Massachusetts, led the
white-bannered hosts in a fight
for temperance teaching in the
public schools. Now every State
in the Union but five require that
the results of alcoholic liquors on
the human system be taught, as
revealed by science. Tennessee
is one of the five States that dc
not require it, although the State
legislature has been importuned
at four different sessions for the
passage of the temperance clause
in the school law.
Congress unanimously passed
an act in 1885 making scientific
temperance instruction compulso-
ny in all the public schools of the
Territories, the District of Column
bia and all the naval, military and
Indian schools in the United
States.
The Woman's Christian Tenn
peranee Union has forty-two diff
ferent departments. One of the
most important of these is social
purity. Under this head are three
subdivisions - preseryative, re-
formatory and Legislative work.
Under reformatory work comes
reform and industrial schools for
hayward boys and girls, and res
cue homes for erring women.
Legislative work is work for
laws against impure literature
and pictures; against licensing
vice in any form, and for. build
ing walls of protection around
the girlhood of this land.
An interesting story was told
Of Mary Clement Leavitt's jour-
ney around the world, establish
ing Woman's Christian Temper