Smyrna times., 1901-07-24
WITH OUR W. c. T. U. WOMEN.
Interesting Notes Prepared by Miss Annie W.
Sutton, the State Press Superintendent.

Mrs. Lillian NJ. N. Stephens, Presi
dent of the National Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union, and Miss
Anna A. Gordan, Vice President, have
recently returned from visit South
and we give the following from an arti
Gle in the Union Signal on "The Dis
pensary," by Mrs. Stevens:
"We had a very good opportunity of
studying the dispensary system of
dealing with the liquor traffic during
our long southern trip. We are con-
ident that as temperance measure it is
a failure, the same as are all other
forms of license. 1t is provable by
statistics that the quantity of alcoholic
liquors sold in South Carolina has in
creased rather than diminished by the
dispensary system.
1--WE consider that it is wrong in
principle and moreover the restrictive
or prohibitory features of the law are
violated as much, even more than is
the law in prohibition States. We
were in town several days where
there has been dispensary for eight
or ten years and because so much
liquor is dispensed contrary to law,
the people have ceased to call it dis
pensary and now speak of it as ''the
tank" During one day OF our stay there
were six arrests for illicit selling. One
of those arrested was q member of the
City Council who has to do with the
dispensary funds, showing that the
corrupting influence of liquor selling
is not eliminated through this system
of regulation.
'"The first dispensary in this country
so far as [ am able to learn was estab-
lished in Athens, Georgia, and its
great success is sometimes alluded to
by the advocates of the system. But
the large amount of liquor sold IN the
dispensary at Athens and the large
profit made by the same, tend to show
that there has been no decrease in the
consumption of liquor and the sale of
intoxicating drinks. We found great
many people who told us that they had
once believe in the dispensary, think
ing it would reduce liquor selling and
help the temperance cause, but they
had been forced to change their minds.
"The members of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union are
strongly opposed to this and every
other form of licensing the sale of
liquor. We found a fast increasing
sentiment in the South in favor of pro-
hibition. Some of the States that are
partly under prohibition through local
option are looking forward to the near
future when they will be able to secure
State prohibition"
Fifteen hundred temperance pledges
have been distributed among the Chris
tian Endeavor Societies of North
Pennsylvania, by the President H. L..
Pound who asks the members to use
them as book markers, as reminders OF
their undying antagonism to the sa-
loon and as means of helping to save
Others"
Concerning the canteen, the Union
Signal says:
ga large number of the volunteer;
were not drinking men when they
joined the army, but they nearly al
drink now, and it is mostly due to the
; canteen. This statement was made tc
/ me by a private of the Twenty-ninth
regiment. If half the time and money
) now being spent in working for the re
: turn of the canteen should be devoted
: to planning wholesome pleasures anC
6 recreation for the soldiers, the drink
ing of the army would cease to be
8 great problem. For many years tn
army of the United States existed with
out the canteen, then for a compare
lively short period the canteen was il
existence and finally, by an act of Con
gress was abolished.
eve are now told that since tn
abolition, drunkenness has increased t
. an extent far beyond what was eve
known before the canteen existed. j
these are the exact facts we are force,
to but one conclusion and that is tha
p, the canteen has established and fos
- tered the drink habit among our So
" diers to an alarming extent, the fruit
!, of which were not 80 apparent Will
the canteen existed, because the hab
!" could be INDUCED continuously, an
could no doubt be restrained t
- !. some extent, but the habit has bee
:. - created and cultivated, and increase
- drunkenness is the legitimate outcom
- of the system.