The Portland daily press., 1898-08-09

1
| ing Enterprise-sIiss Frances Willard IS
| Effort to straighten 1t Out-Two Op-
posing Policies,
| (New York Sun.
| The Woman's Christian Temperance
Union is facing crisis. and questions
are to come before the national conven-
| ton of the suciety at Minnearo4.s IN No
vemher, on which opposing views are
neld by influen4 ial elements Of the society
that nave heretofore worked together.
4he central question is whether the
onlon shall continue to make payments
on the Temple otherwise known as the
temperance Temple, and the Womans
AeInple) in Chicago. 1t is now ten years
since the society undertook to build the
lemple. After raising more than 5000, O0O
and causing the building to be erected
tho society finds that it does not own the
building or the ground on which the
building is placed, and that only SIC, COG
remains to the credit of the building
fund. Thousands OF faithful and loyal
members of the society have invested
| their savings in the stocks and bonds of
the company which has erected the Tenn
| le. Many of them will receive no return
on their Investments il the present plan
CT the administration of the society for
settling the matter is carried out. There
is, on the other hand, strong party at
headquarters in Chicago which has the
| k.nI t1to 0Opx-intior1 that III is tha lrrtry Of
the society to gain possession of the build
ing and that the building will become a
profitable source of revenue for the socie
| ty. This party is already making can.
/ vass for the election Of officers committed
to its policy at the November convention.
Neither side be lieves, apparently, that
the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union can divide into factions and live.
At this critical period in the society S
history it misses the guiding hand of
| Miss Frances Willard, who intended to
devote the fifty ninth year of her life to
al attempt to settle the Temple question
| for good and all.
The Temple, it should be understood,
was meant to be monument to the abil-
| ity and power of woman in American ma
tional life. 1t was to be a great office
| building containing halls and clubroons
| for women's use, though the offices were
to be open to men and women alike. The
offices. of course, were to pay the ex-
penses Of the building. Mrs. Matilda B.
Carse of Chicago started the idea. In
| 1886, at the national convention of the
Union at Minneapolis, Miss Willard re-
ferred to the Temple, then called the
Temperance Temple, as an affiliated in
terest of the Women's Christian Temper
ance Union deserving the cooperation of
| members of the society,"" and all the en-.
couragement that could be lent to it, She
said that Mrs. Carse, who had taken the
whole burden of erecting the building
on her shoulders, would have begun the
work already if the business interests of
the country had not been thrown into
| some confusion by the riots of that year.
| At the convention of 1887, which was
held at Nashville, Tenn, Mrs. Carse ap-
peared before the convention and made a
strong address in support of the Temple
| project. After her address general SUBJ
| scription was opened, and large sums of
money were subscri bed. Later in the
same year, at the Executive Committee
meeting, MIS-. Carse and her friend Mrs.
Hobbs, addressed the committee on the
Temperance Temple They urged very
strongly that the Union should undertake
the work of building it. The records of
the meeting says that the pressure Of other
| business was very heavy, and that the
question of taking up the Temple project
was therefore referred to the general Off
GERS, or, in other words the presidents of
| the State Unions. with the definite I'M
\ derstanding that the erection of the lem
| pie upon leased ground could not be in
| dorsed." In Miss Wizards annual adj
dress in that same year she said: "Mrs.
Matilda B. Carse will tell you of her
plans and show you a picture of the won
derful temple which she mas seen in Wis
| ions On the mount Of faith and prayer.
| She promises not to build until she has
| $500. 00U in the banks, SO we isre safe from
anything chinerical She does not ask
us to assume legal responsibility, so we
cannot complain" The matter was sum-
| med up by the Resolutions Committee in
resolution No. IL, which ran as follows:
Resolved, That we cordially indorse
the grand plan of the Hemp GRANGE Tenn
pie, as presented by its founder, and
pledge to this great enterprise out hearty
cooperation with money and influence.
After full discussion the resolution was
referred to the Executive Committee. by
which it YVES again referred to commit
tee called the Post Executive. This com
mittee added to it this resolution:
Resolved. That we regard with admira-
tion and amazement the colossal plans
of our earnest and devoted sister, Mrs,
Matilda Carse of Chicago, for the build
ing of Temperance Temple IN that city
as a home and source of financial revenue
to the National Woman's Christian Ten.
pcrance Union, and that, while we as
sumo 10 legal rsspor sibility whatever,
we do give to Mrs Carse our sympathy,
our prayers, and pledge ourselves not to
hinder or EN- barr4ss FER in the prosecu-
ton OF her plans provided she shall legal
IL otligate heI self not to begin the work
until SEQ, O01 shall he secured.
But Mrs. Carse did not seem to under
stand the reservation CT the Unions Off
GERS in the same way in which Miss Will
lard and the rest understood It, She did
not feel that she was pledged to have
$500, go il bank. hut thought it would be
euol,ch if she could have $500 coo worth