The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-10-16
TEMPERANCE is
WINNING FIGHT
PRESIDENT wOOLLEY TELLS HOW
THE PROHIBITION PARTY HAS
ADVANCED.

The annual meeting Of the Honolulu
branch of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union was held yesterday
afternoon at the home of the Presi-
dent, Mrs J. M. Whitney, on Punahou
street. A large number of people were
present and enjoyed the meeting very
much
Miss Florence Yarrow was unani-
mously elected recording secretary.
Mrs. L. B. Coan, treasurer of the Uni
on, showed that therew as a balance
on hand in the bank Of $12471, after
all the disbursements of the year had
been made.
Mrs. J. NJ Whitney, the president,
spoke of the troubles that had been en-
counterdd in the erection of the new
drinking fountain near the Y. NJ. c. A.
building which was given by Mrs. and
Miss Bingham. She spoke Of how the
officers of the Union had gone to see
President Pinkham of the Board of
Health about it, and were under the
impression that the desired permission
had been granted but after the .foun-
tain had been received from New York
and was ready to be put in place Presi-
dent Pinkham had refused to give per-
mission to erect the same. An appli-
cation was pending in that department
of the Government and so far no &C.
ton has been taken on it.
The next speaker was John G. Wool
ley, and he spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen: l count
myself fortunate to have lived till the
time when meeting of this kind can
begin with note of cheer. We have
always had optimists among us but in
the main, until a recent date, we have
never had very much encouragement
in the line of temperance reform. Now,
however, everything points towards
success. The spirit of criticism and RI
valry seems to have passed away and
we have now entered on an epoch of
Craftsmanship to which the saloons
must yield. In the last three months
two states have been added to the pro-
hibitive area in this country and in
Maine and Kansas the old reproach,
that prohibition does not prohibit
has been completely answered by a
rigid enforcement of the laws.
Another important thing IN our
work, which has only come up of late
is the fact that the timidity of the
political leaders, who formerly did not
| dare to come out and speak strongly
and firmly for what they knew was
right, has started to disappear. Such
men as Littlefield of Maine, Folk of
Missouri, and Governor Hoke Smith of
favor of laws which pronibit the legal
lied sale of liquor and this movement
has come to stay.
What is still more significant, is
the fact that the liquor press is howl
ing with rage and pain on account of
the success which has crowned our eff
forts for the cause of temperance.
ut was only a short time ago when
the men and women who made speech
es for the temperance cause took their
lives in their hands. Only nineteen
years ago in Connecticut, when l was
making speeches, it was the usual ex-
perience to be stoned out of town and
to have the ropes of the tent in which
| was speaking cut. My wife would
patrol the crowd, clear-eyed brave
woman, to see that | was not assault
ed from behind and she alone was able
to overawe a dozen ruffians. And my
only offense was the making of prohi-
| bition speeches.
I'm the last Presidential campaign
in which l was a candidate, | was able
to travel through the country in a
special car, making speeches and some
times talking in the same towns as
Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan, and Of
ten talking to larger crowds and max
ing better speeches. We counted at
that time on polling vote of 100000
but when the votes were counted we
had only 100000, which was a great
disappointment At that time l got a
letter from this same woman telling
me that l was trying to do too much.
| dIIGAllpISu " hlli Tie llQuOl u amt
and it was killing me, that had made
her home a hospital for drnukards, and
had deprived her of everything, and
never advanced a step in the cause, or
saved a man from among those in
whom had taken a personal interest.
She said that the country wanted whis-
ky and would have it and that the
churches would never fight the liquor
interests. In closing she stated that
she had just been watching the men
coming from work, each one to his
home, and that she wanted me back
to do the same. That she wanted the
people in that part of Chicago to know
that she was neither a divorced woman
nor a widow.
Il replied that there was no chance
for argument. l had had small signs
of success but asked her should come
home If she would be proud to point