The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-02-16

union, responded Then there was a
prayer and conservation meeting, and SUBJ
scquently noontide prayer. At the af-
ternoon session addresses were delivered
by Mrs. Margaret b, Plat Of Washington,
Mrs Emily Mclaughlin of Massachusetts
and Mrs Matilda Il. Carse of Chicago.
Convention hall was crowded by 5000
persons at the evening session, over which
Mrs. L. NJ n. Stevens presided. After do
votional exercises, conducted by Mrs
Katherine Lente Stevenson, Miss Anna
Gordon read Miss Frances Wizards adj
dress, the latter not being present. Both
she and Lady Henry Somerst were de-
tanned in Boston by an attack of the grip,
but are expected here today.
The address was rs follows:
Home protection is the key word Of
woman's work. Manufacturers seek the
tariff for the purpose Of protection to in
dustries, adult and infant; trades unions
are founded to protect the wage worker
from the aggressions Of capital, and cor
porations and monopolies to protect from
the encroachment of competition; but ten
thousand groups of loyal hearted mothers
and wives, sisters and daughters have
formed for the purpose Of acting In an
organized capacity as protectors of the
home, the tempted youth and the little
child.
For this cause there are bands of ribbon
white around the world, and this polyglot
petition is but our prayer that tells out q
purpose of our hearts and has been
wrought into plea before the nations Of
the world. We expect to present this Pc
tition to representatives Of every civilized
government. This cannot be done in the
usual form, because when once received
this magma charta of the home would be-
come the property of tho various legisla-
lures and parlianentS, and our plan re-
quires that it be conveyed from one to an
other. We are also aware that in q legal
and technical sense no government ac-
ccpts the signature of those outside its
own carriers. We have therefore preferred
to make our petition II great popular testi-
nonial, We expect that its presentation
will give an added impetus to legislation
against the liquor traffic, the opium trade,
the gambling den and the house Of shame.
The Womeu's Christian Temperance
union has circulated many petitions. The
number of signatures and attestations Sc
cured throughout the world to our differ
ent petitions in the last twenty years ag-
gregates not fewer than fifteen millions of
names-probably twenty millions.
We praise the polyglot petition work bs.
which woman may rally. Because we are
patriots we have come to the capital Of our
native land to present this petition first of
all in the country in which 1t originated,
and which has sent out all the white rib
bon missionaries who have secured its cir
culation in foreign countries. We present
1t tonight to members Of the United States
senate and house of representatives, and
we expect to secure hearing, with the Pc
tition for its basis, before committees of
those two bodies.
1t is fitting that as this petition has
been from first to last the work of the
worlds Women's Christian Temperance
union, the president and vice.president of
that society should speak at this first Of
tho great meetings to be held in connec-
tion with its presentation to the various
governments Our English leader, Lady
Henry Somerset will speak ON behalf of
the cause in her own land and throughout
the world The greatest number of names,
endorsements and attestations has been
secured in our country, and next to ours
in Great Britain.
SO far as we know tho largest petition
ever presented, except our ''polyglot,h was
that of the British Chartists in 1871, ask
ing for the repeal of the corn laws. This
had million names and 1t carried its
point.
The signatures came to hand in fifty Lam
guages; they are of all sorts and sizes and
were to DO trimmed and prepared for
mounting as compactly as possible ON in
terminable wobs OF muslin, onehalf yard
in width, one edge of which Is bound with
red the other with blue ribbon. The work
is being performed by Mrs, Rebeoea Shu-
man, of Evanston, MS, who has already
spent two years Of steady work.
Tho names are necessarily mounted
somewhat irregularly, but they average
four columns abreast, making, in reality,
quadruple petition, with about hun
dred names to the yard in each column.