The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-06-10
SALOON SMASHER
CARRIE NATION
IS DEAD
Famous temperance RefOrmer
a Victim of PareSis.
HAD BEEN IN JAIL % TIMES
Once Disturbed the United States
Senate and Was Fined $25 for
the offence

Leavenworth, Kan, June 10.-Car-
RE Nation, the Kansas saloon smash
er, died here last night. Paresis was
the cause of death. For several
months Mrs. Nation had suffered from
nervous disorders and on January %
she entered the sanitarium in which
she died
Mrs. Nation did not resemble the
militant reformer pictured by carica-
turists. although she had the mob spir
il fully developed and received the
applause of those who believed in VIC
lence and hysteria as social and pol
itical remedies. She was in fact a
stout, motherly woman with a fairly
good education and the reputation Of
being sympathetic and kind hearted
She was born in Kentucky Her mai
den name Of Moore She lived near
Ex-senator Blackburn's home and was
a schoolmate of his Her mother II
was said, died in the asylum for the
insane. Her second husband was a
lawyer, and frequently gave her legal
advice.
Outside Of her own circle few peo-
pie had ever heard of Carrie Nation,
who lived in Medicine Lodge, Kas,,
until June G, 1900. On that day she
went into her back yard and picked
up half a dozen bricks These she
wrapped separately in old newspapers
and, adding four heavy bottles to the
collection, set out in her buggy for
Kiowa, where she smashed three sal
oons with her ammunition. She would
have smashed others had not proprie-
tors locked the front doors. Then
Mrs Nation stood up in her buggy
and informed the crowd that the law
had been violated, and somebody
ought to be ACKNOWLEDGMENT, or
the authority which permitted saloons
to run in violation of the law After
this challenge she drove back to Med.
icine Lodge Next morning when the
news was scattered abroad, the coun
try realized that a new refOrmer was
at hand
Since that day Mrs. Nation had
been in jail at Wichita three times
at Topeka, seven times, at Kansas
City once, at Coney Island once, al
Los Angeles once at San Francisco
once at Scranton twice, at Pttsburl
three times, at Philadelphia once al
Bayonne, N. j., once, and at Cape BrC
ton once, making total OF % times
she had paid penalty for taking the
law into her own hands. She under
stood the art of publicity and when
ever she started on a smashing toul
her manager-she always had one
took care to notify the newspapers.
In 1903 she created a disturbanc,
at the White House in an effort t
reach President Roosevelt and wa,
elected by two policemen As sh,
was being escorted from the building
she shouted at the top of her voice
II am going to pray for a prohibition
president, and we will have one-on
who will represent the people and no
the distillers and brewers. You ma,
put me out of the building but if
brewer or liquor dealer were here HI
would have been admitted at once!
Afterward, she went to the capitc
and disturbed the decorum of the Ser
ate. Finally she was arrested an,
fined $25, with an alternative of 81
days in Jail If she did not pay. Sh
promptly appealed for assistance an
easily procured the amount of her fin
by selling hatchets. Mrs Natio
toured Great Britain in 1908 and al
tracted a good deal of attention t
her propaganda. She visited publ
houses in many cities, gave advice t
barmaids and magistrates, was arres
ted at Newcastle-on-Tyne for saloo
smashing and appeared in London m
sichalls, where she was the large
for bad eggs. Before the vices q
London stand appalled, she said.