The Detroit times., 1914-02-20
! |gIl-lIQUOR.
I CRUSADE NOW
los YRS. old
rirst Temperance Organization
Formed Was Really Drink
&. ing Club
GLNCE 1908. HOWEVER,
MOVEMENT HAS CHANGED
'!er on Demon Rum" Has
Grown More Effective and
Bitter Year by Year

u Grown More Effective and
80 Bitter Year by Year
htOne hundred and six years ago the
Nyst temperance society was organ
l1sd IN this country Since then the
Slrusgle between "wets" and "drys'
|1ae gone on without ceasing, the
tempennce army steadily gaining
lever the liquor interests, until now
THE prohibition crusade has swept
s4orwArd to such. an extent that Ia
tee the United States the saloon has
0een abolished. while In most OF the
|eoet Of the country II seems to be
|e1sratened with approaching extinc'
rue United States has an area Of
1880 square miles. The area un.
Her norlicense 10 2,132.746 square
|Oiles, and only S41,14l II vet.
n The population Of the United States
- o1:972,326. The population living
IA. dry territory II 46.029.750. or 1.0S7..
~ more than one-hah
~ The greater part of this no.license
|area has been captured by the dry
|afnny within the last ten and Is years.
under the banner Of the Anti-Saloon
league, which IL the most efiicient
F4ehting temperance organization ever
|1pfmed.
Began In Drinking Club.
The hrst American temperance 90
|G3efy was organised by DR.. william
r.. Clarke. In 1908, In Saratoga county.
IN. ~ but II bore little resemblance
To the Temperance society OF today,
|Qu0 any member of our w. G. +. II.
|0f. today would pronounce this society
|os Doctor Clarke's nothing more nor
|10es than O.. drinking club. Its &:
|HAembers pledged themselves to cut
|0ut everything intoxicating except
|beer from their list Of turntables.
|Hh0 wae not only the flrst temper
|ehce society. but It's members took
eht first temperance pledge ever
|sj6ned In this country. The society
EXISTS 70 this day. and in 1908 its
anembere celebrated the centennial Of
~ founding, which was attended b,
|temperance workers from over, all the
|cphnty. f3
Previous to the forming Of this first
Temperance society there had been
|)1G1je agitation against drinking, al
|tA0ath Doctor. Rush. Of Philadelphia.
he OF the signers Of the Declaration
|oe, Independence, wrote q pamphlet
|ogatuSt drunkenness. which had .
|3o1oe circulation.
The early American was q hard
6Tjnkef, The rich man had his side.
bUards tke, p6or man his jug. The rich
man waved his guests 10 the decan-
|tor; the poor man pulled the corn cob
cork Of his jug. Nearly everyone
drank.
But there came q change in public
sentiment, very gradually at nrst. but
which kept on growing and expand
luG. In 1913 the Massachusetts So
eeety Sor the Suppression Of Intemp.
oeance was formed. and six years lat
eia similar society was organized In
Coonecticut.
Tho first great temperance orator
~ thM country was DR.. Lyman Beech.
~, preacher OF East Hampton. L. l.,
and one Of the most powerful pulpit
cgators In America. In 1925 he
amased the whole country by . start
llag series Of sermons s7inst drink.
M and drunkenness. o. Of this All.
Aealion came the American Temper
Gfkce union. which swept over the
6ountry. This was the nrst temper.
onco crusade.
~ 1873 this society had 226 branch
6reanisations. A year later there
we're one thousand, with one hundred
(ljouFnpd members. Fifty distilleries
h6d closed. A host OF temperance
Wcrlkore had sprung up. Many public
nen oigned the pledge.
Up 10 that time the liquor men
were everywhere In control. They
/. Gomip4ted the legislatures. They
11rtated to congress. They enacted
oAodionce Of the church. Church
/. 1oaeOns owned distilIsries, combining
(ke. whisky trade and religion. Preach.
~ were In the habit Of stopping In
0e middle OF Sermons to take q
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