The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-01-13
WAS A WARM MEETING.
The PrOhibitionists Last Night
Stirred Up Enthusiasm
AT the Meeting at the First
Presbyterian Church.
Good Words Spoken for Kansas and
the Saloon Revenue System
Declared Farce.

Through the drizzlinS rain and mud
dy streets last night about $50 of the
faithful prohibitiOnists plOdded to the
First Presbyterian church where the
evening mass meeting OF the State
Temperance association was to be held.
The audience was made up mostly of
gray haired men and young and elder
ly women. 1t was an enthusiastic au-
dience, for when a speaker reached
climax something like this: DO you
want our boys sent TO he'll by the de-
mon runl?" the men would shout,
Amen and the women would applaud.
A H. Vance the president of the as
ISOLATION opened the meeting. He said:
The farthest you go from Kansas the
more you will hear about it. Here we
think we know what is going on among
US But want to say to you that this
state is the most VirtuOus and moral
and law abiding one in the United
States. There isn't a city in the Uni
ted States where the open saloon is al
lowed, but that misery and crime in
times of financial depression are multi
piled tens and hundreds of times. They
say that we need revenue. That is all
pelza and deny that. 1t is utterly
false. (Rev. Fl. D. Fisher, from front
seat: That's right; amenD
Il defy anyone to find a single city
where a revenue is collected from the
liquor business which shows that the
tax levieS are any smaller than where
there is no liquor revenue collected. Lii
quor revenue is nothing more or less
than a corruption fund. 1t is corrup-
ton money!
Rev. H. D. Fisher: 'Yes!-corrup-
tion.O
Now let US organize. and without
reference to other questions make a
firm stand for law and order. Let us
give to our children an, Inheritance un-
suliied. Let us come together as one
man and stand for the prohibitory law
of Kansas" (Applause.)
Mrs. Eugenia +. St John, who is the
pastor of the Stewart Avenue Protest
ant Methodist church of Kansas City,
Kan, was introduced and made short
address She is a magnetic speaker,
and her long years of experience in
temperance work made her remarks
especially pertinent. She is the state
organizer of the w. c. t. L. for Kan
sas. She said:
IF you want to know where the hot
bed of resubnnission is in this state 1
will tell you that it in the southeastern
part of the state. 1t is the Anheuser-
Busch bottling works at Wichita. That
establishment was planted there by the
enemies OF prohibition to be a menace
to the law. England is as far ahead of
America in the way of prohibition
work as America is ahead of some bar
barrie nations. We have staid at home by
our fireSideS because it was too hot. or
too cold. or too wet when we should
have been at temperance mass meet
ings. 1 find that l can draw bigger
crowds to this kind of meetings than
ever before. We have been derelict in
our duty. Let US arise and work for
cate the people, and the men are to en-
force the laws.
Another thing. we ought to be care
full not to condemn the. incoming ad-
ministration. All we know of them is
what has been told OF them in the
newspapers. And 1 have learned that
newspapers make mistakes as well as
Methodist preachers.
(Rev. H. d. Fisher: Ha, ha, haD
illinois had a constitutional conven-
ton which cost the state sZ79,O00, and
the litigation lasted ten years Do we
want this kind of a thing in our state?''
Jude Eldridge: Never, no neVer.'')
Beloved. do you believe that the
prOhibitory law will be resubmitted?
No.
"Resubmission is not coming; for
women can pray and men can preach
and vote, and may God speed the day
when we can vote for the same men
that you men do" (Applause.)
AS Mrs St. John walked to her seat
Major c. A. Bateman. of California
supreme lecturer OF the Good Templars,
and Grand chief Tenplar of Kansas
walked hurriedly down the center aisle
in an excited manner. His long white
beard and hair waved as he moved
along. Arriving in front of the audi
ence he exclaimed: That's the best
Good Templar talk 1 ever heard. I'll
lock arms with that woman" the Rev.
H. d. Fisher clapped his hands and
Judge Eldridge pounded on the floor
with his cane. Then Major Bateman
ran over to where President a. H
Vance was standing and throwing his
arms around him he gave him a ire
mendous hug and yelled: I'VE all
will lock arms with our dear president
The prOhibitiOniSts clapped their hands
joyfully. The major released Mr.. Vance
and fell Immediately to taking up a
donation collection for the immediate
payment of current expenses; SIS was
thus secured.
The meeting broke up in the con-
fusion of having the programme read
for today's proceedings.
N N 4.