The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-11

Fitchburg, oct. 10.--The 18th AM
Abstinence Union of the Diocese or
Bernards' Hall, yesterday afternoon
G. A. r. Hall, which was not large
meeting. The attendance Of deiega
union, the committee on credentials
usual at the gatherings of the total a
| away with all the honors she could
Gates from that city the offices OF p
| urer and a delegate to The national G
| field won out in the contest for Tn
| the fight for the election Of HAM
vention. the third place on the Gel
Berkshire County.
! One Of the features of the CONVEX
amendment to the constitution oleI
Worcester. president of the National
become animated with the Diocesan
admission into the National Union al
per capita tax Of all the societies 10
on constitutional amendments report
ments but FIR. McGillicuddy brough'
convention in a forcible and earnest
of the radical change, that the III
societies Of the Diocesan Union TOT Z
reported to each other Society py the
The session of the convention TO-DAY
was called to order at 1918 by the pres
ident, Rev. John j. OMalley or Wor-
cester, who, in his address to the unlous
made a special plea for an extension VI
the work among the children and Wo-
men of the diocese. After referring 10
the evils which the total abstinence
movement antagonizes, he said: How
| seek a reformation better than by go
| ing to the root of the evil, beginning
at the foundation, by giving more and
| better attention to the young.
"By so doing we are but following
the example given us by our own Right
i lanu A.
| BILE custom of administering the pledge
to children at the time of their coni1r-
nation Why could not this be an or
| eanized work so that when these chill
| dren attain their majority they will be
ready to enter our adult societies2
81 appeal then to this distinguished
body to give generously Of time ano
means for the preservation Of Catho-
\ lie yo9th foEsf SO gan keep the chill
dren temperate and iudAce all temper.
ate men to continue temperate al
drunkards will soon die and this LAND
will be eased of an Overwhelming bur
/ den. With the young particularly the
FWork is full of hope. Those tender
| plants, If they begin to shoot In a
wrong direction, are easily set right, or,
better still, by early vigilance and care
are kept right from the beginning.
"See what an office has been entrust-
! ed to you. Those little ones may be
| fashioned to ignominy or to honor.
| They can be made Just what you wish
| to make them, and, is 1t saying too
much, to assert that society is looking
| to you in the hope that you will prop
erly discharge the trust?
Again, with the initial year of the
new century, the human race is emery
ing from the long reaching shadows OF
an iron age and coming out into the
t,,H &
are assured scores of new stars haYe
taken rank with the heavenly hosts
during the last two centuries, stars
brighter than they have, in the same
period, kindled new lights in the moral
armament Among these new stars
one has just appeared above the hori-
zon. 1t is the star of Woman's infiu
ence. Influential woman is a being of
but few centuries. Till then her in
fluences have fallen upon human char
acter and society like the feeble rays
of rising winters sun upon polar
fields of ice But her sun is reaching
upwards. Her morning light has gid
ed the visions of human hope and sill
vered over the night shadows Of human
sorrow. There has been no depth of
human misery beyond the reach of her
ameliorating influence nor any height
Of human happiness she has not raised
still higher. 1T would be irreverent to
her worth to say in what walks of life
she has walked most like an angel of
light and love. Still there is scene
where she has cast forth her costliest
pearls and shown such qualities Of her
native character as almost merit our
generation. This scene has been allot-
ted to the drunkard's wife. How she
has filled this most desperate outpost
Of humanity will be revealed when the
secrets of human life shall be disclosed,
when the history of novels and of
murky garrets shall be given in. when
the career Of the enslaved inebriates
shall be told. From the first to the
lowest degree of his degradation, there
will be memorial made Of woman
worthy of being read and heard in
heaven.
This influence of woman is what we
need for it will add strength to the
temperance movement. 1t will do
much to dominate the movement in the
right direction for / sincerely believe
the influence Of a woman, the influence
Of a mother upon life is the greatest
possible influence and therefore I love
to see the women join our total absti-
hence societies. / long to see in every
city or parish a Ladies' Aid Society, to
see women who are courageous enough
to take the pledge and let the world
know it is not the pledge of the re-
formed drunkard, nor the pledge of
reformation, but the pledge Of preser-
walton.
Let us ever bear in mind that men
are what women make them. A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.
Neither can an evil tree bring forth
good fruit. In Gods name then, wom-
en- of America, be courageous A river
cannot rise above its source. A nation
never rises higher than its women. Let
US try then to institute a higher stand
ard of morality for morality just now
is at a very low ebb and II Will never
rise higher until the women Of Amer
lea put their hand TO the pillow and turn
their faces against the evil Of drink.
No greater boon could 1 ask than that
the women Of this diocese give their
unqualified consent. hearty cooperation
and sincere devotion to the cause Of
total abstinence, because 1 believe
woman's hand has power that over
tops the greatest power on earth.
Men may make and repeal laws but