The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-14
VIC. T. D. INSESSIOp
LEADERS IN THE MOVEMENT
--- GATHERED AT THE ST. LOUIS
CONVENTION.
FIVE DAYS OF HARD WORK.
MISS WILLARD'S ADDRESS THE
FEATURE OF THE OPENING
MEETING.
PROTEST. OF THE HOME EMBODIED
Prohibition in Politics From the
Standpoint of the President of
the WOman's Union.

-- ST. LOUIS, Nov. 13.-The Twenty
third annual convention of the National
- w. c. T. U. opened in Music hall today,
with the greatest attendance of any
one previously held. At least 500 &C
credited delegates were present, and as
many more visitors from every por-
ton Of the country. Among the dis
tinguished workers in philanthrOpic
feds in attendance are Miss Agness E
Hook, of England, secretary of the
Worlds w. c. T. u; Miss Maud
Booth, of the American Volunteers;
g Mrs. Gwyneth Vaughan, of Wales
Miss Rebecca Kirkorion, Of Armenia;
and Rev. F. D. Green, secretary of the
American relief committee, New York
Three sessions a day for five days will
be held during the convention.
Exercises were begun as early as
O'Clock, prayer meeting being held
III Schuyler Memorial Home at which
Miss Elizabeth w. Greenwood, of New
York; world and national secretary OF
the --eVangeliStic department., acted as
leader
1t was considerably after 9 o'clock,
the hour scheduled for meeting, wher
Miss Frances E. Willard, national pres
1dent, called the gathering to order
Previous to this all the women identi-
fed with the Original crusade" were
called to the platform. AS Miss VIII
ard stepped to the front, she was re-
ceived with a salute Of waving hand
kerchiefs. The exercises began witt:
the reading, responsibility, Of the cru
sade psalm, the 146th.
Mrs. Henrietta L. Monroe. president
OF the w. c. r, o., of Ohio offered up
q prayer, the delegates standing. After
the singing Of the crusade hymn "Give
to the Winds Thy Fears" the roll of
ex-officio members was called by
c. Hoffman, of Missouri. The
report Of the executive COM
mittee was then made 1t was in
effect report of what had been done
at the meeting of the committee yester-
day and related to the work of the
convention and the national union. 1t
was decided to make March 20, the
birthday of Gen. Neal Dow, a prohi-
bition rally day. There was some more
singing, and Miss Willard then made
an address. She said that her annual
address was partly prepared when the
call came to work for the Armenian
refugees in Marseilles and since that
time, it has been impossible for her to
complete her message. She therefore
gave familiar talk to the delegates.
3 Mention was made of the previous con-
ventiOn, held here in 1884 and Miss
Willard added:
I'VE have marched far since then;
the alignments Of parties have
changed; the labor movement has taken
on proportions so vast that no one
speaks lightly of it any more, the peo-
pie are forging their way to the front,
% misguided often, making pitiful
paths in the wilderness, following
false lights and RELOCATING the fight
fer q clear brain to the Spartan band
of prohibitionists when if labor would
win, it must make the temperance re-
form the ark Of God to be borne in the
very van Of its swift-gathering army.
In 1892, some Of us sat up all night
with the committee on resolutions of
the great labor convention with it's
thousand delegates, pleading with
them to put a prohibition and a home
protection plank in their platform, and
they. would not"
PROHIBITION IN CITIES.
The speaker said that prohibition in
So politics has been, is now and is to be-
the embodied protest of the home
against the saloon. When the white
ribbon women plighted their faith tc
the movement it had polled only ten
thousand votes. In 1884 the number
rose to 100000, and has gone on slowly
increasing until 100000 had been gath
cred, but owing to the great contro-
versy concerning the free coinage OF
silver, this party, like every other had
split in twain in the memorable year
of 1895, and the vote had fallen off to
about 100000 out Of $4,000, 900 ballots.
This was followed by an evangelistic
hour, presided over by Rev Alice Ruth
Palmer, of Minnesota. The considera-
ton of miscellaneous business closed
the morning session.
tha q afternoon