The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1917-04-20
An interesting Paper

HI IIIlCIGSllllS TdpCl
AT the W. C. T. U. meeting held
Friday, April 6, at the home of Mrs.
E. P. Hartman, the following inter
esting paper was read by Mrs. M. c..
Maxon. The Sentinel has been re-
quested to reproduce it, and takes
pleasure in doing so:
achievements of the WOman's
Christian Temperance Union"
One of the most frequent questions
is, "What has the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union done ?" Few
questions are more difficult to answer
with any degree of satisfaction; not
that they have not done anything, but
because they have done so much.
To make a fair showing every one
of our many departments, every one
of the states and territories, and in
deed every local Union, should be
allowed to reply, for all have had their
victories, and they are all integral
parts of the National Union.
The National Christian Temperance
Union is the crystalized effort of the
Woman's Crusade of 1874.
Today, every state In the United
States has a Union. NAlaska is also
organized, and we have good start
in the PHILIPPINE Islands; also the
Canal zone and Porto Rico.
It has been said that the sun never
sets upon the Woman's Christian Tenn
perance Union. Their greatest enemy
has been the saloon; their first step
was to- wipe out the saloons from 250
towns and villages, after which all
went well for three months, Then the
liquor forces rallied and opened up
their shops and when the women
came again, the saloon men threw
buckets full Of dirty water on them,
pelted them with snowballs. turned
the hose on them, set biting dogs on
them, sang indecent songs, and hurled
scurrelous language; they even had
them arrested and fined for disturbing
the peace.
Then the unexpected happens,
Women are Women, the world over;
stir a woman to the depth of her ma
ture, and obstacles and opposition are
best spurs which renew her efforts.
The very shameliness of the attack
upon them, the very way the ground
was cut from beneath their feet, stir
red them to do ten times more than
they ever thought of doing in those
first days.
With almost sublime audacity, they
turned their backs upon precedent,
and boldly proclaimed that their watch
word would be-, "Agitate, Educate, Or
ganize." From this time they pro-
posed to get a firm grip and to hold it.
They proposed to show not only the
moral wrong, but the financial folly;
also the social injustice Of the liquor
traffic; that it did not possess stand
ing as a medical agent.
It took six years of hard fighting
to get the study of alcohol and mar
cotics into the public schools, but they
did. 1t is now the law of our land.
When the women began their efforts,
there was not a state in the Union
protecting a girls virtue beyond the
age of twelve years. If child of that
age consented to her own undoing,
the man walked off scott-free. The W.
C. T. U. decided that until girl was
competent, under the law, to buy and
sell land, to give note, should she
be considered competent to surrender
her womanhood. 1t took thirty-five
years Of battle, then all but three
states raised the age Of consent to
sixteen years.
Years and years the women fought,
and almost single-handed, against
beer in the soldiers canteens. Years
they fought to stop the shipment of
liquor into the dry states, and for
years unlimited ridicule was cast upon
them. Finally their brethren joined
their great cause and the year of 1913
saw the greatest victory won. j
The w. G. T. U. is force that
fights it's battles in every home,
pushes its plans vigorously forward,
inch by inch, never retreating, never
sleeping, always advancing.
The w. G. I. U. has moved steadily
forward and it's great power has
grown nightly with the years.
When Mrs. Lillian Stevens became
president, she measured up to the oc-
casion. Without bluster or fuss, she
took up the duties Of her high Office.
She was doer, not dreamer. Her
leadership was most successful. Miss
Anna Al. Gorden is a fit successor to
those peerless leaders. Miss Willard
and Mrs. Stevens. Tactful, courteous,
painstaking and conscientious, to give
her brain, soul and body, to this, her
Masters work. She is steadily carry
ing forward the work Of our great I
We have great educational feature
that has done much to unity and en-
phAaize the standard Of the W0nan,s
Christian Temperance Union. The in
fluence Of the executive committee Of |
district, state and National Union, the
Y. p. B. and u. 4. III, together with
4. !. ~ q -, 80. a