The San Francisco call., 1896-02-03
Enthusiastic Meeting of Tenn.
perance Advocates and Their
Friends.
EssAYIsTs IN A CONTEST
They Give Their Reasons for Being
Total AbstainerS in Terse and
Vigorous Style.

District No. 8 of the League of the Cross
held rally" yesterday afternoon at Odd
Fellows Hall and the event proved to be
one of the most enthusiastic and most sue
cessful yet held by the Catholic tenn
perance society. The hall was densely
crowded. Hundreds of boys, N embers of
the league, occupied chairs in the front
rows, and elsewhere ladies and gentleme q
filled every space, even to the corridors,
where many had to stand during the rally.
Five parishes were represented by the
boys-St. Patrick's, st. Roses, "old" st.
Mary's, st. Teresa's and All Hallows--and
he cadet corps thronged the stage.
The meeting bad one special feature,
which excited considerable interest, and
that was the prize essay contest by four
members Of the league for a beautiful
silver medal, on "Why I am q Total Alb
stainer.n
When the meeting opened "Veni Gre
ator" was sung by the audience, after
which w. A. Breslin, district president,
who occupied the chair, made brief ad-
dress. He said that the league was Or
ganized about six years ago by Bishop
Montgomery and it has spread through
out the City parishes, each one now having
| a branch. The membership is nearly 7000
all pledged to abstain from Intoxicating
liquor until they have attained the age of
81 years.
Miss Marie Giorgiani and Miss Nellie
Ford gave an Instrumental duet, and
Harry Dinan tenor solo.
Rev. ]. p. Ferguson delivered an ad-
dress, which was mainly timely talk to
the boys and young men followed by a
homily on temperance. He that is tenn
perate shall prolong life," was the text.
Father Ferguson said that inIemperance
was not only great evil to the body
polite, but also to the indiYidual it
| ruined the body. Then why should man
contract the habit? He would fly from a
pestilence, then why not fly from an evil
! far more deadly and insidious in its effects
than plague-the evil of temperance?
| Why not secure strong and vigorous
constitution while still young by refraining
from liquor2 A man who has the bless
ing of health is rich even ii he have not
dollar IN his pocket. When the pledge is
taken to refrain from liquor until twenty
one years of age is reached man can rest
assured that he may go through life with
| out being asSaIled with the temptation to
| drink.
The audience standing sang "America, %
and then the essays were read. The con-
testants were William Fitzgerald, ST.
| AotliSh JOiii OI. mary
| William Walsh, ST. Roses; Thomas Etcles,
ST. Brendan's Brother Erminold, presi.
dent of Sacred Heart College, T. R. Curtis
! OF st. Peters church and Miss E. S..
Mahoney We're the judges. They awarded
the prize to Thomas Eccles, iSho said:
| l am total abstainer because hate drunk
| enness. My pledge shows that am in earnest
| What is soshateful as this vice2 Drunkenness
| deprives man of Gods precious gift of reason.
Reason in man is spark of Gods intelligence.
| 1t establishes the bond of union between man
as creature and God as his creator. Drunk
/ enness dethrones reason and leaves man prey
to his vilest passions. God made man a little
! less than the angels, the drunkard makes him
! self little less than the brutes. Moreover this
/ horrid vice extends its blighting curse over
man in his other relations. It is ruin in pros
perity and despair in adversely. Cowardice,
theft, cruelty, murder, contempt of God end
! hatred of man go along and follow after it.
Disease of body and 1mbeeility of mind are
notorious results of drunkenness. Whoever
loves humanity hates drunkenness. If you
love religion you hate drunkenness, for
drunken Catholics disgrace their church, and
If they die drunk, as too often happens what
other tate but eternal loss can await them. For