The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-09-11
HISTORY OF THE W. C. T. U.
Society Organized on the Wave of a
Great Temperance Uprising.
From Fridays Daily.

rIon rIiudy DdIy.
Crusade Days" was the topic for the
North Mankato w. c. r. U. meeting held
yesterday at the home of Mrs. w. S.
Albrant Almost the entire meeting
was given over to business. The follow
ing review was given of the annual
Leaflet" under the title of Beginnings"
All should be interested in how it all
came about-this great organization. 1t
is now nearly thirty years since it all
began. 1t was in December, 1873, that
DR.. Lewis of Boston came to the town of
Hillsboro, Ohio, and delivered a temper
ance lecture, under the inspiration of
which the people of that and many other
Ohio towns were moved to united ac-
ton They gathered in the streets to
pray and march two by two into the
saloons, and there besaught the men who
drank to cease doing so, and the men
who sold to give up the business and
invited all to accept Christ. In fifty
days this whilrwind of the Lord had
swept the liquor traffic out of two hum
dred and fifty towns and villages. The
first crusade band was led by Mrs. Eliza
j. Thompson of Hillsboro, one of the
old-style Presbyterian trained that
women should to keep silence in the
churches, yet she obeyed this call of
God. The town in which the crusade
came to its greatest success was Wash
ington Court House, Ohio. There the
forces were led by Mrs. George Car
penter. The central figure of the cru
SADIE was Mrs. Stewart of Springfield,
Ohio. She was early baptized with it's
spirit and her marvellous powers of ora
tory and real executive ability easily
marked her as leader
This temperance crusade spread from
Ohio to nearly every state in the Union
Massmeetings were held in the churches
where the people met for prayer. From
there the women would march through
the streets stopping at every saloon and
holding meetings, reading the scripture,
singing hymns and offering prayers.
When thHv were not admitted they knelt
on the str"ots in front of the saloons and
prayed These crusaders were not fana-
tics hut were among the brightest and
best in every town. Many saloonkeepers
were converted and they smashed in the
heads Of their liquor casks letting it
run into tho streets. But this could not
always % on, because the saloon itself
was found to be but the outcropping of
the liquor system which is protected by
law and intrenched in the very heart of
the government and legal suasion was
found to :" necessary as well as moral
suasion. 90 the final result was call
for a national organization which was
perfected at Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. Is,
10 end 20, 1874. The first local W. G. T.
Z. was organized at Fredona, N. Y, Dec.
10, 1873. The work has spread from
there into all the world and is now or
ganized in sixty-three states and ter
ritories. Washington and California for
local convenience are divided into two
state unions each.
The worlds union is organized in over
fifty nations with total membership
of about half million. Different lines
of work have been taken up from time to
time as the need was brought to the at
tention of the leaders until now there
is not an educational or a reform work
anywhere but what the Woman's Chris
tian Temperance union is working for its
advancement or but what is covered by
some of the forty departments of work.