Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-03

Lady Somerset Addresses the British
Association.

ASSOCIATION.
The British Woman's Temperance Asso-
cation held its annual meeting in London
yesterday afternoon, Agnes Weston pre-
siding. She said that there were now a
hundred branches of the association and a
hundred thousand members. Miss Frances
Willard, Lady Henry Somerset and others
spoke
In her annual address Lady Henry Somer-
set said:
THE platform we have laid down is sure
ly broad enough for any and all. 1t seeks
only to harmonic the home relations and
the world environments of men and women.
1t clearly demonstrates that dominance of
the mother heart, mated to the masterful
brain, by which the COIneliaS of Christian
ity and the Jeanne d Arcs of the twentieth
century shall hold their own In equal step
with sons and brothers; less they will not
accept, more they will not desire.
THE first question asked will naturally
be: What good is it expected to accom-
plish? First, 1t will give that added sense
of power that comes Of numbers.
"A woman's natural W. c. T. u, such as
we are trying to develop, will in ten years
have acquired by its helpful work a position
that will make it the strongest organized
force in the world. The British Medical
Association. most Of the poor law guardians
and many of our ecclesiastical bodies are
unanimous in considering that compulsory
legisla ton for the detention of inebriates is
the only means of dealing with the evil.
I'VE hold as strongly ever to the be-
lief that the grace of God In the heart Is
the most searching and radical of all
remedies. The public house, as such must
exist for awhile. Let us do all We can to
draw the poisoned fangs wherever II Is
practicable, in order to pave the way for
that time when the people in general will
see that alcohol Is a destructive and not q
constructive agent in our social life.
There seems to be a likelihood of our
obtaining one practical piece of legislation
q md sh..s C.
day closing. l must confess, however that
while l believe that Sunday closing IN Eng
land would be Of great value should pre-
fer our friends to limit their efforts in the
cities, at any rate to close the public houses
save for one or two hours on Sunday
should like this exception made because I
believe that otherwise we should have what
would be distinctvely class legislation and
so long as 1t Is not practicable to close the
club Of the rich man, which Is in effect his
public house. l do not think that we have
any right absolutely to close the public
house Of the working classes, except by
their own vote.
You and l. my comrades, are workers in
this cause because We feel that a new
standard has been raised: because we feel
that the new woman will demand from a
man the purity that he asks of her. We are
here because we believe that in this dawn
ing century the economic indeoendence NJ
woman will be a fact and not q fiction. that
woman will hold in her hand the bread
to maintain herself until the day comes
when, not from necessity, but from choice
she links her life with that Of the one whom
she loves best; when We shall no more talk
or whether man can make a good nro-
vision, but rather whether two souls meet
IN that divine sympathy and that mutual
understanding that alone makes marriage
sacred. 1t Is because of these considers-
tons that We believe there yet shall mass
away the figure that Is the most sorro,yful
of all from the stony streets of shame which
she now treads. The woman who, by rea-
son OF her own devotion and the depravitv
OF man. Is held captive by the heaviest chain
that ever weighed upon the weary limbs
OF any slave. We have a good report from
the department of organization. On. hmm
dred and eight branches have been organ
lied in England and South Wales by means
of which a membership Of over 1000 has
this year been added to the association.
Scotland has organized thirty branches and
North Wales thirty-six; total additions one
hundred and thirty-four."