The Portland daily press., 1898-09-21
Blngor Doctor Causes Sensation at
". G. I. U. Convention.
ASKS IF LAW POSSIBLE TO EN-
FORCE WOULDN'T BE BETTER.
Rev. DIR. Pember Vigorously Defends
Prohibition--Discussi ion the Feature of
Yesterdays Session of st ate w. q. i.
U. Convention at Bangor - MIS-.
Stevens Annual Report.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.J

ESPECIAL TO THE PREssJ
| Bangor, September 20.-The Maine
State convention of the Women's
Christian Temperance Union opened in
this city on Tuesday forenoon with
several hundred delegates in attendan CO.
Mrs. L. n. N. Stevens, president of the
state union, and acting president Of the
national body in place of Miss Willard,
opened the convention, and made long
address of welcome to the delegates. In
| the course of her remarks Mrs Stevens
referrad to the Woman's Temple difficulty
in Chicago and sketched the progress of
| work in the past year. She paid an
eloquent tribute to Miss Willard, the dele
gates standing meanwhile.
The executive committee named Miss
Effie M Littlefeld of Winterport, score
tary pro tenn, in place of Mrs. Sarah l..
Cram, whose illness prevents her from
being in attendance The committee also
took action looking to a Uniform date for
holding the annual meetings OF local
unions throughout the state.
In the afternoon, Mrs. A. B. Crookett
| reported on the situation in Dexter where
the union succeeded in closing the hotels.
The chair appointed the following COM
mittees: Credentials, Mines. Littlefeld,
Yates, Spauldings; courtesies, Mines.
Foss, Beedy, Hunt.
Mrs. Harvey, president of the Penob-
scot county union was called to the chair
while the state president, Mrs. Stevens.
gave her annual address which was
listened to with great interest and
frequently applauded, and on Tuotion of
Mrs. Spaulding, accepted with rising
vote Of thanks.
tt opened with tender allusion to Miss
Willard and General Neal Dow. In regard
to total abstinence she said: "There is
continually an increase In the number of
total abstainers and counting in the
Oriental races, the majority of the worlds
people do not drink intoxicants. Busi-
ness, science and the laws of self-preser-
walton are nightly helping in these days,
to promote total abstinence. Railroads
and other corporations, life insurance and
other business companies are making rs-
auirements for that abstinence such as
they did not ten or twenty years ago. .sand
even the civil service, makes minute In
quiries regarding the question. The
young man or woman today who does not
drink stands much better chance in
every way than the one who does. Her
words on prohibition were of the strongest
kind. "The W. G. T. U. denounces all
forms of license as wrong in principle and
Intellectual in practice as q temperance
measure We believe in prohibition and
prohibition enforced, and we believe,
were we not ballotless women, and SO to
a certain extent powerless, that there
would be in Maine less violation of law
than there is at present. Why is the sale
of this acoursed thing allowed at all in
MaineP I ask this of the men who have
the right of franchise. ask 1T especially
of those votersswho. are part of the seven
teen million professors Of Christianity. in
America. On the subject of purity she
spoke with great plainness, thanking
fair grounds the impure exhibitions
which have been so disgraceful; also the
governor and council for having retired
an unfit judge, thus taking step and q
notable one, toward purifying the
judiciary of Maine. sit is getting to be
well understood that the W. G. q. u.
seeks for truth, seeks to know the truth
and knowing it, dares speak in praise of
the right and blame of the wrong" Re-
garding woman's suffrage, Mrs. Stevens
gave no uncertain sounds quouing Speaker
Reeds words: There is nothing that
can be said in favor of mans suffrage
that cannot be said of woman suffrage"
She touched on several of the many de-
partments of work, also gave clear state
ment regarding the Temple in which
every White Ribboner is interested.
The afternoon session of the W. G. L.
q. convention was occupied ch iefy by
the reading of reports. That Of the state
corresponding secretary, Mrs. Sarah
Lord Cram, was read by Miss Effie Little
field of Winterport, Mrs. Cram being de
tanned at home by illness. The document
is lengthy review of the work OF the W.
G. L. u, in the past year, and its tone is
very hopeful for the future OF the pro
hibition cause in Maine. The various
other branches Of the W. G. L. o.. work
are also stated to have made excelleiiG
progress during the year. Ihe reporS Oh
the treasurer shows receipts OF $3.50; ex-
penditures of $500.
At night there was great audience in
the Central church, 80 hear the address of
we,oone TO the convention. The speakers
were. For the city. DR.. d. A. Robinson;
for the churches, Rev. E. Il. Pember;
for the Y. NJ. G. a., secretary, Robert 4.
,Iordan; for the local W. G. Il. u, its
r,resident, Mrs. H. G. Whitman; for the
Bangor Woman's crusade, Mrs. l.. j.
Wheelden.
While all of the addresses were of much
interest, those of DR.. Robinson and Rev.
Mr. Pember excited greatest interest and
Iveliest commsnt, the two speakers
taking opposite Views of the efficacy OF