The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-01-29
SPLENDID LECTURE
By GEO. r. STUART

The only vacant seats visible from
the auditorium of the Temple thea
ter when Mr. Stuart commenced his
discourse last night were on the
stage at the back OF the speaker, ey-
cry other seat being occupied, and
the vestibule full.
Mr. L. y. Green introduced Mr..
Cook, the state superintendent of
the Anti-Saloon League of Florida.
who in a few words explained the
aims and work of the A. S. L. and
incidentally mentioned the fact that
it was in the city of Ocala that the
Florida league was first organized,
and that it still stands on the same
platform as when first instituted,
namely: law enforcement and the
adjustment of all saloons. He
spoke of the fight now waging in Pr
nellas and st. Johns counties. and
that even in st. Augustine where for
400 years they were afraid to antag-
onize the saloon, they were now put
ting up splendid fight and doing
their utmost to drive the liquor traf-
fic out of existence. He said there
were now 40 dry counties in the
state and 326 saloons in the ten wet
ones, nearly one-half of which were
located in Jacksonville. He then in
troduced the speaker of the evening,
Mr.. Geo. R. Stuart of Knoxville,
Tenn. AS a humorous speaker Mr..
Stuart has but few equals. He is a
natural comedian and very large
proportion of his humor was the
work of his acting. He certainly be-
lieves in the theory that we used to
hear of in our school days, credited
to old Demosthenes, that the first,
second and third qualification for
oratory is action. He commenced by
congratulating the audience on be-
ing alive today, also that they were
Americans, and that no man in Flor
could breathe it's pure air; that this
was an age of overwhelming patriot
ism and progress; that while our
fathers had to be satisfied with wag-
ons, those wagons had given way to
carriages and then in turn to autos,
which soon would be replaced by fly
ing machines. 1t was the same with
their houses: the wooden house had
given place to the brick one, and it
in turn to the concrete and stone
house, and some day we may have
iron houses. In speaking of Florida,
he thought she had a corner on sun
shine, also in oranges, as he never
expected to hear of oranges being
grown in the state of Maine or Penn
sylyania, or snow falling in Florida.
Getting down to the saloon bust
ness, he said that wonderful progress
had been made during the past year
in putting them out of business as
one-ninth of all the saloons in the
United States had been forced out
and one-tenth of the wholesalers,
which, he said, was going some. :"
He spoke of the progress made in the
number of secret societies, each
claiming to be for the benefit and up
lift of the age; that while few
years ago the Masons and Odd Fell
lows had the whole field to them-
selves, today there were ten or more
strong secret societies. All of these
organizations had the Bible for their
cornerstone and to take it away
| would be like taking the stills from
| under house. He spoke of the pro-
| gress made in medical science, in the
prevention of contagious diseases,
and the care of those who ara af-
/ fiicted with them, and incidenk ally
he told OF a little boy in "a stoEj m at
sea who when asked if he wa not
afraid said he wasn't because had
been baptized and vaccinated.
| And yet while everything els was
reaching out for "a higher and obler
plane on which to work for tn good
of mankind The saloon was 4 ill al
| lowed to exist to degrade and de-
| -------- g