The San Francisco call., 1896-10-26
Ambitious Young Temperance
Advocates Tell What
Drunkenness Costs"
WON BY ST. JosEPH's PARISH.
The Committee Awards the Much.
Coveted Silver Msdal to Charles
L. Asmussen.

The regular quarterly rally of DistricU
No. 2 League of the Cross was held al
Court Mission Parlor, Seven teenth street,
yesterday afternoon. The parishes of st.
Charles, Mission Dolores and st. Joseph
more than filed the large auditorium,
many being compelled to stand through
out the long but thoroughly interesting
programme. The cadet com panies present
were B of st. Charles Parish, James
Curley commanding. and L, Mission
Dolores, William c. Clarke in charge.
The special feature of the day was the
essay contest, the subject being, What
Drunkenness Costs" The participants
were Captain Bowling of Company B. Pri-
vate Joseph Maher of Company L and
Charles l.. Asmussen of st. Joseph's jun
ior Branch of the League. Colonel J. j.
Tobin, Miss Donnelly, vice-principal of
the Hearst Grammar School, and Brother
Lasciau, director of st. Peters School,
acted as judges for the occasion. 1t was
conditioned that each essay should be linn
tied 10 1000 words, though the ambitious
young advocates of temperance were not
slow to exceed this mum Der.
Private Maher was the first speaker, and
his efforts met with generous applause.
He confined himself largely to statistics,
though touching lightly here and there on
the moral and social evils which, be
claimed followed the too free use of
alcohol. Captain Bowling of Company B
followed with very well-timed essay,
which, while not materially differing in
substance from the facts presented by the
first speaker, was delivered with great
earnestness and some pretense at oratory.
st. Joseph's Parish had no reason to feel
ashamed of Its representative, Charles L..
Asmussen. His essay was short, crisp,
direct to the point, and was well received
by the audience.
Pending the decision of the Judges,
David l. Mahoney delivered an address, in
the course of which he said:
las lar as instruction upon the question
Of temperance goes, / think the subject
has been fully covered in the splendid es-
says we have listened to this afternoon.
Y ou know the special work of the League
of the Cross is to take in as members
youths ranging from to II. At that age
they are more easily taught the benefits of
temperance. They are surrounded by an
atmosphere or purity which must be bene-
fetal in its results. 1t is to our interest,
the interest OF America, to have good citi-
Zens, because that means good govern
ment This country more than any other
needs pure-minded and sober citizens at
its head. That is one reason why an or
ganlZation of this kind is To be desired
and why it should be fostered by the peo-
pie at large"
Captain Tobin then announced that the
committee mad awarded the medal to
Charles L. Asmussen of St. Joseph's parish.
he said that for number of arguments
Private Maher had excelIed, while Captain
Dowlings delivery had been most effective
and intelligent, but for general excellence,
including oratory and arguments, the COM
mittee was unanimous in awarding the
prize to the representative of st. Joseph s
parish.
1t is worthy of mention that this is the
first instance when other than cadet has
won the coveted honor.