The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-11-27
FATHER CURREN SPEAKS
WILK ESBARRE PRIEST DELIT-
 FRS TEMPERANCE LECTURES.

Ardent AdmIrer of ROOseveIt-Sees No
 Coal Strike LOOming-EIOquent Ad-
 dresses-Large Audiences.
 The Rev. Father J. J. Curren, the wilkesbarre priest, who is power in the Pennsylvania coal districst, deliv- cred interesting and powerful lectures on Temperance" at St. John's church yesterday morning, and last evening he was at St. Patrick's church. His morning talk was eloquent and per suasive and little wonder appears the reason for this mans tremendous in huence among the brawny and resolute miners in the Wilkesbarre regions of Pennsylvania. The man has power back of him, and his words had tell ing effect on his hearers yesterday in the two churches. His talk was main ly aimed at the ones upon whom the making devolved, and the drinker came in for a good share of his ad- monition. He advocates temperance eieties in all towns and cities.
 Said he:
 "To avoid drunkenness, it is abso- Iutely necessary to pledge the moderate thinker. The drunkard will be left alone. He is beyond redemption. The moderate drinker is the man to be se- rured, and the effort will be made in that direction. We hope by this move ment to create a temperance settle ment, the good effects of which will be speedily felt throughout the town.
 II would like to predict also a great temperance wave that is rising throughout the country which will have h great effect upon the nation in few years. During the four years that have been engaged in this work I have seen the wave gradually in- creasing, until now it embraces all classes of people. In my own terri tory the Protestapts have joined in with the work, and already men are engaged in going about the state of Pennsylvania organizing societies to aid the temperance movement. In this state I am informed there is mem bership of about $500 in the c. T. A. U., which I hope to increase to about 1O,- 200 before leave.
 Father Curren is the national treas urer of the Catholic Temperance Union of America. He is on a trip through the state featuring on the cause of temperance.
 7 Father Curren arrived in this city Saturday afternoon and was met at the station by committee of citizens and escorted to the Oneco, where he was their guest at a dinner.
 Those who attended the dinner be sides the guest of honor were W. J. Cronin and J. J. Corbett, state secre- tary and state treasurer respectively of the c, T. A. U.; F. J. Kinney, coun- ty director in the same organization; James Gunchion, president of the St. Aloysius T. A. B. society; James J. Brennan, formerly vice president of the National Total Abstinence union: John B. Beegan, president of the St.. Pat rick's TIA. B. society; Bernard E. Lynch and Joseph H. Mulvey.
 Said Father Curren in an interview: "Theodore Roosevelt is the greatest president this nation has ever had since the days of George Washington"
 And as to the coal strike, which the papers have so much to say about:
 'gThere is no serious unrest among the miners, so far as I can see. Their conditions appear to be satisfactory in the point of wages and in working conditions. will say, perhaps when they ask for g. new agreement they may attempt to make some alterations in the present method of paying the miners. The, reason for this is that so many of the men, who have put in the best years of their lives in the mines and are now old, are receiving but one dollar 8 day, while the younger men are getting as high as three dollars a day. In my opinion there will be at tempts to equalize the wage rate in justice to the old men. I am of the opinion also that when the matter does come to head the miners will ask for the recognition of their union, and they were never better able to force the acceptance of such a demand than they are at present. There is