Rocky Ford enterprise., 1913-12-12
TO DESTROY LIQUOR TRAFFIC
Petition Addressed to Governments Of
World Asks Prohibition of Curses
of All Nations.

(From an address by Mrs. Frances P.
Parks, Corresponding Secretary Ma
tional w. c. T. U)
The story of the Polyglot petition is
in part the story of the Worlds Wo-
mans Christian Temperance Union. a
multitude of Christian women of all
races and colors banded together to
destroy the legalized liquor traffic.
This petition, addressed to the gov
ernments of the world. was started
on its long journey in 1885. The con-
Guiding paragraph reads
We, tyour petitioners) come to
you with the united voices of rep
resentative women of every land,
beseeching you to raise the stand
ard of the law to that of Chris
tian morals, to strip away the
safeguards and sanctions of the
state from the liquor traffic and
the opium trade, and to protect
our homes by the total prohibition
of these curses of civilization
throughout all the territory over
which your government extends.
ITO enumerate the languages in
whose characters the beliefs of women
have been nodded to action by this
far reaching document would be to
make a list of almost every tongue
that has survived the confusion of
Babel. There are columns of Chinese
women's signatures that look like
houses that Jack built. There is a
list of Burmese signatures that looks
like punches of tangled worms" The
nd
spacy isle of Ceylon are enough to
make a shorthand writer shudder.
The incomprehensible but liquid VOW
els of the Hawaiian Kanaka jostle the
proud names of English ladies of high
degree; the name of the naughty Sc
nora of Madrid makes the same plea
as her mark" OF the converted wo-
man of the Congo. There are Span
ish names from Mexico and the South
American republics French from Mar
tinque, Dutch from Natal. and Eng
lish from New Zealand. besides the
great home petition from the greater
nations. The total. counting mems
and women's signatures and attesta-
tions. aggregate seven and one-half
millions. The petition Is mounted on
cloth and If the names were written
one under the other 1t would be more
than five miles ling"
By legislative enactment secured
| through the Woman's Christian Tenn
| perance Union scientific temperance
instruction is compulsory in all pub
lie schools of the United States. and
is optional or compulsory in the
| schools of Great Britain, Canada
France. Holland. Denmark, Belgium
Switzerland. Austria. Hungary. Ger
many, Sweden. Finland. Australia
New Zealand South Africa. Mexico and
japan.
1t is not strange that the sanity OF
temperance should be seen when two
generations of our people have been
trained from the kindergarten to uni
versity in the belief that alcohol is a
! poison.
1t is not strange that women, build
ing for all time. have put great EN-
phasis upon the spread of the scienti
flc temperance instruction. believing
that there can be no permanent pro
! hibition of the sale of alcoholic liquor
which does not rest upon the founda
| ton OF knowledge of the true nature
| and effect OF alcohol.
Fifty countries are federated with
the Worlds Woman's Christian TEN
perance Union and will send delegates
to its ninth triennial convention to be
held in Brooklyn. n. Y, in October
/ The Countess of Carlisle is president