The Mena weekly star., 1913-03-20
W. c. T. U. COLUMN
TEMPERANCE SERMON
Large Crowd Heard The Rev.
 Francis N. Brewer at M. K. /, Church. South. Yesterday.
Bertha Kelly, Press Supt.

VI. 1T ing to hear the special sermon to I'the Woman's Christian Temperance Union by the pastor, the Rev. Francis N. Brewer.
 The members of the organization attended in a body, and occupled reserved seats. Special music was rendered by d seIect choir, and eV- erything conspired to make the service a successful one. AL the close of the. service the Rev. MT Brewer in few well chosen words, presented the pen with which Acting Governor Oldham signed Senate Bill No. 205 (the Lundy blll) to Mrs. Maxwell, president of the society, and the one with Wnlch Miss Griffin enrolled it, to Mrs. Johnson, secretary of the w. C. I. 1U. These ladies each responded in l d neat speech of thanks. Mrs. Will son, the vice president, then made an address in behalf of the organ izalion. in which she thanked the Rev. Mir. Brewer for his co-opera- ton and for the honor he had con lerred upon them.
 Mr. Brewer spoke from the text, Ter Entreat Thee, Help Those Nom- en- Philippians, 4lh chapter and 3rd verse.
 The sermon was in large measure a tribute to the life and character of Frances E. Willard, the originator of the w. c. T. U. He spoke at length of the growth of public sentiment against the open saloon and the use of intoXicants as a beverage. He referred to the veto of the Webb bill by MT. Taft and it's passage over his veto in both the Senate and House by large maiorities. He also quoted at length from a Washington special to the Gazette on the 10th inst, i'll which it was stated that the Will son Marshall administration shall be a white ribbon affair, with no liquor served at any entertain ment." In the same dispatch 1t was stated further, not only do the president and Mrs. Wilson and their daughters taboo the sparkling cup, but so also do the vice president and Mrs. Marshall and Mr. and Mrs Bryan and other members of the cabinet" The following are eX- tracts from the sermon: We may without apology adopt the words of DrummOnd and say that prayer Is the breathing function of the w. C. T. U.
 Lady Somerset called the white ribbon organization an embodied prayer Organized mother love Is another name for it, We pray and we work. We pray without ceasing for ourselves and for others. That our prayers may be answered, we do both with blessed assurance, that the Universal Father will transform the natural man, with all his inherited and acquired tenden- cies into the spiritual man, with desires in harmony with the laws of health and purity; will make of him a new creature in Christ Je- sus.
 "The four pillars on which the white ribbon organization rests are , total abstinence, prohibition, pur- ity and peace The w. c. T, U. has often been likened to the 'Banyan tree and a more fitting illustration could not be found. Like the ban van tree, its branches are continu- ally reaching out and taking root in new places, growing in every direction, and each year covers more ground. It is many in one, and the more it is divided the stronger it becomes. The w. c. T. U., in a general sense, is manifold in it's purpose and endeavor, but in a specific sense it is three-fold. It stands for information, reformation and transformation, a wonderful triad indeed. The primary function of the w. C.. T. U. is information. It is a mighty teaching force. No student in our public schools can study physiology and not become acquainted with the physical evils of alcoholism. IL has laid it's hand on the platform, the pulpit and the press, and through these mighty agencies of information the world IS becoming acquainted with the great evils of the rum traffic. Is it any wonder that this foe of God and home and every land trembles in the presence of this organization?
 Truly, the white ribbon is a badge particularly appropriate for an organization so far-reaching, so deep as to principle, so broad as to policy. The knot of white is a to- ken of service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords This badge of white on the breast of a w. c. T. U. woman is. recognized and repeated the world over as an emblem of peace, purity, total ab- sunence and prohibition. Silently but potently it speaks For God and home and every land Silently but , eloquently it tells of mother love and woman's achievement. The more our thoughts dwell upon the Woman's Christian Temperance , Union and its teachings and pur- , poses, the more deeply are we im- pressed with it's Christlikeness. : inspired surely must have been not only Frances K. Willard. but also , the choosers of our badge, our motto and our name. Like the ,, Apostles of old, Francis F. Willard l built more wisely than she knew