The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-12-03
H|TsAT DEMON RUM
LEAGUE HOLDING A
BIG MEET IN CHICAGO.
War on the Drink Parlors Is to Be In
augurated; President of the Soci,
ETY. Hopes That the Liquor Dis.
pensers Will Put UP Warm
Fight; Wants Them to Start Mass
Meetings and Parades.

Chicago, Dec. 1.-The war on the sa
loon forces in Chicago and the effort
to make this city "dry" will be fur
Their invigorated by the starting of a
campaign to secure and educate 1000
additional field workers who will can
vass the city for signatures to the
local option petition.
The first biennial convention of the
Anti-Saloon League of America is now
on in Corinthian Hall in the Masonic
Temple and will take the form of a
conference between the superintendent
and the field workers. 1t will continue
until next Monday noon, when the con-
vention itself will be launched with a
banquet at the Auditorium hotel.
Discusses the Local Fight.
In regard to the fight now on in this
city James X. Shields, superintendent
of the Illinois AntiSaloon league, said
81 hope the saloon people will put up
fight and good one. If we don't
have red-hot argument we won't get
up any interest. If the saloon people
start fight on the aldermen and the
people who are helping us we possibly
may take hand in the election cam
paigns.
81 earnestly wish that the saloon in
terests would start their mass meet
ings and parade through the street
with all of their regalia. Whether
this fight will result in Chicago's going
'drv' | would not like to say, but we
will poll an enormous vote. These
questions and battles are only won
after series of fights. At present
we are pushing thois educational cam
signatures to the petition, but we will
easily have $4,000 names, while we
need only 10000. After the confer
ence we will have 1000 men in the
field on this fight"
At the meetings this week there will
be about 500 delegates and at the ma
tional convention next week nearly
1000 will be present.
The opening meeting of the national
convention will be held in the Chicago
Opera House on Monday, and. DIR. Smith
L. Ford will act as chairman. Elk
Governor Hanly, John Woolley, DR.
Edgar p. Hill and others will make adj
dresses. The banquet in the evening
will be presided over by DR.. Howard
III. Russell, founder and organizer Of
the Anti-Saloon League of America.
The second session, on Tuesday o.
next week, will be held in Handle
Hall, and in the evening the meeting
will be reconvened in Orchestra hall
The remaining daylight sessions vii
be held in Handel hall, and the even
ING sessions, until the adjournment OF
Thursday evening, Dec. 8, will be II
Orchestra hall.
Temperance reformers have Otter
been advised to quit trying to make
men sober by legislation. The church
especially has been urged to rely more
upon moral than legal suasion, and tt
emphasize the work of prevention by
education. This advice has been ac
cepted and the signs of the time indi
cate the immediate coming of thu
greatest total abstinence pledge signing
crusade the world has ever known"
J This statement was made by Rev
Duncan G. Miner in his sermon il
Wicker Park Methodist church in cele
bration of worlds temperance Sunday
"This does not mean that the mar
velous anti-saloon movement by mean
of local option that leads to prohibi
ton shall cease, but that the mora
reform will only confirm and strengthen
the work of suppression by law" h
continued.
"The pledge signing campaigns of tn
past were largely for the reform o
drunkards. Moderate drinkers wer
urged to give up drink for the sake
the weak brother, who was likely t
drink to excess.
'Tn the Washingtonian movement o
lS4O-4S it was estimated that NOR
than 100000 of inebriates were reform
Cd