Evening star., 1898-01-04
FOES OF THE DRINK HABIT
Annual Meeting of the Anti-Saloon League
of the District.
Installation of Officers and Receptfou
OF RepOrts-President Ewin,s
Review of the Year.

| The annual reports OF executive officers
| and chairmen of standing committees and
| the installation of the officers for 1898 con-
| stituted the special order for the meeting
| OF the Anti-Saloon League Of the District
| OF Columbia last night. The league met in
Its hall, at No. 623 Louisiana avenue, with
| Mr.. Jas. l.. Ewin in the chair, and Mr..
| Jesse Z. Suter recording secretary. and
| after the routine business Of the evening
Rev. Walter H. Brooks, D. D., chaplain
reinstalled as president Mr.. Ewn, who
then installed the other officers present. as
follows: Mr.. A. N. Garfield, first vice presi-
| Gent; Mr.. A. l.. Swartwout tn ri vice presi-
dent: Rev. DIR. Brooks, chaplain; Mr.. Jesse
| 7. Suter, recording secretary; Rev. Il.
! FRANKLIN Rattray, d. D., corresponding Sec
retary; Mr.. John S. Blackfcrd. treasurer
| and Mr.. Byron A. Ford, doorkeeper
In the report of the executive committee
1t was announced that chairmen of stand
new year. follows: On cooperation
Vice President Garfield; press, Correspond
| ing Secretary Rattray; protests, Attorney
| Shoemaker; legislatio Rev. F. D. Power
| u. D.; literature, Andrew Wilson; mass
| meetings, Mr.. Geo. w. Callahan. The pro-
motion of Messrs. Shoemaker and Callahan
| made two vacancies, which were filled by
! the election of Mr.. John F. Vinal and Mrs
| ALA b. Foster additional members of the
| executive committee.
The reports of the secretary and treas
| urer were referred to Vice President Swart-
| won't as auditor. The recommendation of
| the president, that the delegation to Column
| bus be instructed to invite the American
| Anti-Saloon League to hold its next ma
tional convention in this city, and that they
| be authorized to make subscription to-
| ward the financial support of the national
| work, were adopted, and the otEer recon-
| mendations contained in the several annual
| reports were referred to the new executive
| committee.
| The threatened sale of wine and beer in
| the Congressional Library was referred to,
| and protest on behalf of the league ad-
| dressed to the President of the United
i States. the joint committee on the library,
| Superintendent Green and Librarian Young,
| was ordered by the league.
| Twenty-seven organizations responded to
| roll call, and all the officers were present
except Mrs. Clinton Smith, second vice
president.
President Evyin's Report.
| President Ewin submitted his annual re-
port, which was, i'll part, as follows:
| THE year 1897 has not been marked by
| any great new departure IN our part, eX-
cept in plans; but the progress of the tried
| work which has given the Anti-Saloon
| League of the District of Columbia its
splendid record for practical usefulness in
! suppressing the drink traffic has been fairly
| satisfactory, and Its results encouraging
| and stimulating
| '"rhree things, apart from the more ordi-
rary work of the standing committees on
| cooperation, mass meetings literature and
press, deserve special mention:
Il refer first to the second anti-saloon re-
vival conducted In Foundry Church under
! the auspices of the league October 81 to
| November ). The committee in charge con-
sisted of Mr.. Jesse G. Suter, Mr.. George w.
| Callahan, Mr.. Edw. H. Jones, Mr.. E. F.
Simpson, Mrs. Clinton Smith and Mr.. Ed
ward Tarring. A guarantee fund suffi-
cient to enable the committee to promptly
pay all bills was collected, and was rald
beck in full by the offerings received in
connection with the meetings. The series
was an improvement in every respect on
| the '96 revival. l recommend that like
| special effort be part of The program for
'aS.
THE second striking success of the year
in the way Of agitation was the recon-
| mendation of the third Sunday in October
as temperance Sunday N place Of either
Of the November days which were named
by some bodieS-not by way Of opposition,
of course, but by way of selection, and be-
cause the October date came before the
close of the license year. Many cf the
preachers throughout the District observed
the day we designated. AMI in addition to
their audiences IN the pews, a number of
them reached the entire community
through the daily newspapers. which de-
voted several columns of their issues of
Monday. October 49, to symposiums of
the temperance sermons of the day before.
The committee in charge Of this work was
composed Of the president vice presidents
anu SeCTetdT.eS. recommend lndI lnc
third Sunday of October be suggested to
the national convention for adoption by
1t, and for recommendation to other ma
tional bodies as universal temperance Sun
day
"The last. but not the least important of
Our three greatest achievements Of the
year, by way of agitation, was a per-
sonal task of Vice President Garfield. 1
else board and major of police, lS9O-1S97,'
printed in full in The Star, and subse-
quently published as pamphlet under the
caption Does 1t Pay?' Here is something
licenses in the District of Columbia means
with reference to the prevention of pow
erty, crime and shame.
Temperance Legislatfon.
"Our bill Oh. r. 1889 before the Fifty
fourth Congress, to improve the excise law
of this District would in all probability
have become an act but for the opposition
of one man. 1t had already twice passed
the House of Representatives, under the
championship of Representative Elijah A.
Morse, and had been considered and ia
vorably reported on by the District Com
mssioners at the date of my last annual
report. Some very interesting work imme-
diately followed. 1t was reprinted for the
use of the Senate committee on the Dis
trict of Columbia at the government print
ing office so as to make it appear that it
did not fit into existing law. A city paper
Oh january q, 1881, CdINe OUT WltH tn6 ulS-
play headlines, Defects in Morse Bill: I'm
portant Discovery by the Senate District
Committee and even Mr. Morse appeared
to think for a moment some fatal mistake
had been made
Comparison showed that the alleged re-
print omitted from existing law two acts
Of Congress, one of them being the Babcock
amendment, and that there was no mate
rial error chargeable to the friends of the
BILL correct private reprint, furnished
by the league, was accepted by the Senate
committee and the official reprint was
quietly suppressed. joint hearing was
then had before representatives of the
Senate committee in its rooms. with two
representatives in Congress as the princi-
pal speakers for the liquor men. The pres
ident of the league conducted the support Of
the bill, and our speakers were Messrs.
Shoemaker, Wilson and Garfield, Mrs. Platt,
DIR. Power and DR.. Crafts Rev. DR.. Wilson,
DR.. Brooks, Mrs. Clinton Smith and other
workers contributed the support of their
presence. The bill as it passed the COM
mittee gave fully nine-tenths of what the
House had passed. including three ad-
vances on existing law. The first prohibits,
in effect, sales by brewers and distillers
and their unlicensed agents to minors and
to families, and all their sales on Sundays;