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The Atlanta Sunday School Union. During the week just closed there was held in Atlanta perhaps the most successful meeting ever recorded in the history of the Sunday School Union. This movement for a general “Union” to consider, discuss and further work in the Sunday School, is of vital importance but for several years interest in it was permitted to lapse or only to re vive occasionally. Now, however, the well-timed efforts of some of the leaders in church and Sunday School work have given the subject of the Sunday School careful attention and the result is that these quarterly meetings are constantly growing in usefulness and importance. Dr. Junius W. Millard, the President of the Union, has been a great factor in creating, as well as in reviving the interest in this work and to his personal effort is due much of the success of the recent convention. His genius and energy put new life into the organization. The meetings were held in the beautiful new Sunday School Temple of Central Presbyterian Church and were largely attended. Mr. E. A. Hartsock, the faithful secretary, was brimming with gladness over the success of the meeting. Notable Addresses. The opening on Thursday afternoon was marked by the Home Department Conference conducted by Mr. M. M. Davies, a busy business man, who has learned how to do Christian work because he loves it. Mr. A. B. Caldwell spoke wisely and helpfully on Baraca work for young men, followed by an open parliament in which the beloved Gov. W. J. Northen spoke with profound impressiveness. At night Mr. C. D. Montgomery pleasantly filled the place of the pastor, Dr. Theron H. Rice, in making the Address of Welcome. The “Personal Touch” in Sunday School organi zation was the next subject on which Mr. W. D. Upshaw, Editor of The Golden Age, spoke, and in presenting the speaker to the large audience, Dr. Millard said: “An Inspirational Cyclone.” “When the recent earthquake ruined San Fran cisco and shocked the country, we in Atlanta con gratulated ourselves that the Gate City of the South is builded on such a rock that we are free from all earthquakes, but Georgia is not free from cyclones. She has a cyclone of her own! I wish to present to you tonight the inspirational cyclone of Georgia, William D. Upshaw, Editor of The Golden Age, and the friend and inspiration of Georgia youth!” In an address of thirty minutes Mr. Upshaw de veloped the thought that the personal touch in Christian work is reciprocal in its enriching in fluence because, first, it deepens the meaning of Christian fellowship; second, it strengthens our faith; and third, because it thus inspires us with that hope and purpose necessary to the best of our conquering service. Major R. J. Guinn followed with a paper on “Organization,” so original and powerful in sug gestion that the convention immediately asked for its publication in The Golden Age, and it will ap pear in these columns next week. A Wonderful Worker. Mrs. J. Woodbridge Barnes of Newark, N. J., the International Secretary of the Primary and Junior Sunday School Work, refreshed all hearts by her remarkable knowledge of how to reach and keep boys and girls before the period of adoles cence. Her answers to questions in the open par liament could have come only from wide experience wrapped up in intelligent consecration. The Cradle Roll Work. On Friday afternoon Mrs. E. C. Cronk, wife of the popular pastor of the English Lutheran Church, taught the value of “beginning early,” by the cradle roll department of Bible School work. This was followed by a delightful message from the Secretary of the Philathea work, Miss Mary E. THIRD QUARTERLY CONVEVTION WAS GREAT SUCCESS. The Golden Age for October 11, 1906. Baker. And appropriately following this came a beautiful talk from Miss Daisy Davies on “How to Teach Young Ladies.” “Promotion—When? How? Whom?” This was the subject handled with ease and ear nestness by the Superintendent of the Central Pres byterian Sunday School, Mr. J. J. Eagan, another commercial leader whose meat and whose drink is to make his life count for God and humanity. With due defference to everything and everybody who had gone before, the message that stirred the con vention as no other was “The Pastor and the Sun day School,” by Mrs. E. C. Cronk. The conven tion called for its publication, and the fact so much space is given to this address this week proves the high estimate placed on it by The Golden Age. The closing address of the convention was made by Rev. W. L. Walker, the associate pastor of Dr. Broughton’s Tabernaicjle, on “J|esus Christ, The Masterful Teacher.” Sparkling with magnet ism and mellow with spirituality, Mr. Walker’s message was a fitting close to the best session in the history of the Atlanta Sunday School Union. The music by the Wesley Memorial and Baptist Tabernacle choirs was a practical illustration of the kind of stirring music the Sunday School needs to make it attract and hold the masses. That Pro-Dispensary Movement. By J. L. D. Hilly er. I was sorry and surprised to see that any sugges tion in favor of “dispensaries” could appear in a temperance report in the Stone Mountain Associa tion. I was glad it was stricken from the report. I was not there, my wife was seriously ill, and I was obliged to stay with her. The dispensary movement has, in my judgment, little or nothing to commend it. But it cannot be combated by mere declamation. Two arguments are offered in its favor: Ist. It is urged that it is the less of evils; 2d. It is urged that it is a step in the direction of prohi bition, and this last in Seab Wright’s argument in another form, that, by putting in a dispensary we dislodge the “barroom gang.” In reply to the first argument I point out these facts: The lessening of the evil is merely apparent. The restrictions put upon the sale of liquor in the dispensaries are: First, they are open only during the daylight hour. Second, no quantity less than one-half pint (or a pint) may be sold. And, third, no drinking can be allowed on the place. These so-called restrictions are not really restric tions, they are mere inconveniences. People who want to drink arrange to get their liquor during the daylight hours. People who might be satisfied with a single drunk, once a day are compelled to huy the minimum amount whether they want it or not. They are thus tempted to give it to others, or to drink more themselves. The restriction as to drinking it “on the premises” is a mere sham. The drink ers easily arrange a nearby back room, such as they have in Rome, where the liquor can be passed around ad libitum, and since it is not a barroom boys of all ages have unrestricted access to it. Every train going out of these dispensary towns carries a dis pensation of grip-sack and hip-pocket botles. The smoking cars form their field of operation. Every wagon on which a drinking man goes out of town has its flask or jug. The roads leading from Rome outward in every direction are beaded all along by empty bottles, or the broken fragments thereof. The amount of drunkenness is apparently less, be cause the drinking is done secretly in town, or out of sight, in the country. The aggregate amount of liquor sold can be the only test of the restrictive features of the dispensarv. If the dispensary ad vocates will show that the amount sold each year is less than it was the year previous, they will have an argument that will count for something in sup port of their contention that the dispensary lessens the evil. They do not do this, but on the contrary, parade the increasing profits of the dispensary, to appeal to the avaricious spirit of the selfish and re probate citizens, whose votes control the governmen tal policy of the country. The second argument offered, that it is a step to ward prohibition; that it dislodges the barroom gang, and the like, may be considered right here. The argument of anti-liquor men to establish a dispensary, to lessen the evil, to approach prohibi tion, or to dislodge a liquor-ring is to adopt a tac tical measure in order to get the advantage of an enemy. Sometimes a general commanding a fight ing line will order a retreat or change of front in order that he may compell his enemy to change the alignment of his forces. This tactics is all right if it does in point of fact put the enemy in a less favorable place. But does it? The dispensary at Baxley in a few years after it displaced the barrooms, tyy offering what seemed to be a more respectable place to buy liquor, had led a number of sober young men, heads of young fam ilies, and growing youths, into the habit of gathering ground the dispensary bottles in private rooms. The good people of that county saw that they had cnanged their front only to give the enemy a chance to enfilade their lines. They had the dispensary abolished as soon as they made that discovery. The immense revenue from the Terrell county dis pensary proves that it has not decreased the amount of liquor sold in the county, but it has greatly in creased the avaricious spirit of the people. I was in Floyd county for two and a half years. The dispensary was dominant. The leading Chris tian men in the county had put it there. True, the barrooms were gone, but the dispensary men were m the saddle. One of the first dispensary com missioners was W. J. Neel. He was a deacon in the First Baptist Church. He soon saw that he could make no fight with liquor while he occupied that position. He resigned the commission. The man ager of the dispensary at Athens was excluded from the church. There was constant conflict between rhe advocates of the temperance cause. I attended three associations and a large number of general meetings in Floyd county. In all those meetings except that in December in Lindale, it was under stood that we must handle the temperance question so as not to attack the dispensary. The dispensary had so twisted our temperance lines that we could not shoot straight at the enemy for fear of shooting through a line of our own people. We could not fight the liquor traffic because if we did, we would wound the dispensary, and our friends were in the dispensary. All of which shows that very often the dispensary occupies a position that makes it harder to dislodge than the barrooms. I am glad that the association at Covington did not adopt that report with the pro-dispensary clause in it. Had His Samples. A clergyman was very fond of a particularly hot brand of pickles, and, finding great difficulty in procuring the same sort at hotels when traveling, always carried a bottle with him. One day, when dining at a restaurant with his pickles in front of him, a stranger sat down at the same table, and, with an American accent, presently asked the min ister to pass the pickles. The minister, who en joyed the joke, politely passed the bottle, and in a few minutes had the satisfaction of seeing the Yankee watering at the eyes and gasping for breath. “I guess,” said the latter, “that you are a parson ? ’ ’ “Yes, my friend, I am,” replied the minister. “I suppose you preach?” asked the Yankee. “Yes, sir, I preach twice a week, usually,” said the minister. “Do you ever preach about hell fire?” inquirt'd the Yankee. “Yes, I sometimes consider it my duty to remind my congregation of eternal punishment,” returned the minister. “I thought so,” rejoined the Yankee, “but you are the first of your class I ever met who carried samples.”—Tattler (London), 7