The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-03
MISS WILLARD REFLECTED.
Again Chosen President of the Nat,ona
W. G.. t.

of this mornings session of the W. G. IT.
U. The present officers headed by Miss
Frances e. Willard, were reelected. A
motion was adopted declaring that moth
ing said In the discussion of the Teuple
shall be construed as rejecting on Mrs.
NJ. B. Carse, her sincerity or purpose her
good faith or her management, but on
the contrary the convention expressed ap-
probation of her unfaltering faith and
her tireless labors in the interests of the
Temple.
PURITY DEPARTMENT.
DR.. Mary Wood-Allen, Superintendent
of the Purity Department, reported sub
stantially rs follows:
The interest in this department is in.
creasing. Never has there been as GEN
eral demand for information and SO
earnest protfer Of cooperation as now.
Not only parents, but business men, col
lege presidents, pastors, editors and ply
sicians are awakening to an understand
ing of the scope and vital Importance Of
this work. The reports of the general
secretaries of the different branches are
full of interest.
IOolorm Leg lS4ablou. MRS. OOra W6DD,
general secretary, reports not SO much leg
islation this year, as in many States no
Legislature was in session. Utah, Lou
tsiana and Washington raised the age Of
consent. Nebraska, Illinois and Texa S
made unsuccessful efforts to raise it, =, In
Florida the seduction law was raised
from sixteen to eighteen, and the rape
law changed. making the penalty death :.
A most vigorous effort was made to in
QllC6 (S0NnrARa m rai tho q nf oa,t
In the District Of Columbia and the Ter
ritor1es to eighteen. Although the bill did
not pass, there Is announcements to be-
lleve that 1T will pass at the next session
OF Congress if petitioning is kept up.
The effort In England to restore the infa-
nous Contagious Diseases Act warns us
to be on the. alert against efforts to foist
the same upon us in this country.
Mrs. Charlton Edohlm reports forty
four Florence Crittenton Missions in ex.
istence and the interest deepening. r. !
The general rescue work Of the depart
ment has been hindered by the severe
illness Of the daughter of Mrs. Isabel
Wing Lake, the general secretary of this
branch. Her plan is to institute Ma
tional Graded Home as safe shelter for
an woman, no matter from what part Of
the country or what her need. The be-
ginning of this work has been made and
during the coming year will be prosecuted
vigorously. !
Mrs. Mabel L. Conklin, general secre-
tary of the White Cross branch of the
Purity Department, reports societies in
every State but Utah and Florida. Her
meetings for men in the interest Of this
work have been most effective in advanc-
Ing the cause of nobler manhood She
has organized both White Cross and White
Shield societies.
The White Shield societies branch il
under the general secretarysh1p of Miss
Rose NJ. Wood-Allen. The young women
in these societies are. distributing litera-
ture and pledge cards and educating
themselves in regard to the vital subjects
embodied in the work. Sunday school
classes are organizing themselves into
White Shield societies, Epworth Leagues
and Christian Endeavor societies are APP
pointing White Shield committees, Y. W!
G. A. Is are organizing classes, and the
older boys and girls of the L, I. LIS are
taking up the White Shield courses Of
study. 5-e :" h
|. Mothers Meetings have as general SCI
cretary Mrs. Jessie Brown Hilton, who
has held Parents Institutes as we'll as
Mothers Meetings, and finds the interest
deepening. The same report is given by
Mrs. j. q. Kellogg. the general secretary
Of the branch of Child Culture Circles,
whlchiis an effort to unite fathers and
mothers in scientific study of child
training.
Mrs. Mary e. Teats, representing the
evangelistic phase of the Purity Depart
meut, has done most comprehensive
work. She has addressed many conven-
tions, associations and schools, organized
Purity clubs, started circulating libraries,
held Purity revivals; in fact, has given
four hundred and ninety -four addresses
in less than ten months.
Tho New Crusade, the official organ of
the Purity Department, has now it's sub
soribers in all civilized lands, and is pro-
wing its right to existence by it's value to
the workers. The latest development in
the work is the establishment, by the
superintendent, of fund for the free
distribution Of Purity literature, called
in honor of the first donor, the Fairbank
Fund. To offset evil literature needs
most active. earnest and untiring effort.
and this phase of the work, needs the aid
of philantbropists who are looking for
some worthy cause to support.
The work of this department will be
the great work of the Twentieth century.
HOMES AND HOMELESS CHILD
Rem.
Miss Harriet A. Leavitt of Portland.
Me-, superintendent Of the department.
for Homes and Homeless Children, re-
ported as follows:
The aim of the department Of securing
homes for homeless children is
First. To create and foster among the
members of the Woman's Christian Tenn
perance Union an active interest in un.
fortunate children.
Second. To recommend to the state and
local unions q careful study of this phase
of the child problem-the care of depend-
emit children and by comparison of
methods to arrive at the best way of pro-
viding for them.
Third. In every state and union TAKING
up this department, to seek to extend q
helping hand to the needy children in the
locality, bearing in mind the great value
of the family as the social unit and doing
nothing to weaken the natural ties ex.
cept in extreme cases.. ~,
We recommend special attention being
paid to the condition of defective children
in the rural districts where the parents
are frequently in ignorance of the exis-
tenoe Of schools for kthe Development of
such children.
Fourth. If child is homeless mr. ,f
after careful investigation and considera.
ton, because of cruelty or vice. ii he
comes necessary to disregard parental
control, to follow as far as possible tba
natural law and seek for such a child a