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ment of this cause that the following from her
pen will be as greatly appreciated by the readers
of The Golden Age as it is by the editor.
Mrs. Armor’s Story of the Work.
“The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union,
horn of God, cradled in faith, and baptized in the
beauty of holiness, is one of the foremost of the
wild-wide movements for the uplift oE humanity.
‘ • Since that day, in 1873, in Hillsboro, Ohio,
when the Holy Spirit came in a baptism of fire
on those godly women constraining them to march
against the saloons till this day, when multiplied
thousands of women all round the world are march
ing in solid phalanx against the greatest foes of
God and humanity—intemperance and impurity—
the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union has
known no retrograde.
Organization and Progress.
“Organized in every known country on the globe
and in the islands of the sea the great World’s
and National Conventions just held at Boston and
Ilarlford respectively, showed an increase both in
numbers and zeal. More than ten thousand un
ions in the United States alone, and a clear gain
in the United States this year above all losses of
more than 13.000. Georgia was among the states
making the largest gain.
First Union in Georgia.
“The first great union in Georgia was organized
in Atlanta in the basement of Trinity church, by
one of the crusaders, ‘Mother’ Stewart, of Ohio,
April 20, 1880. Mrs. A. H. Colquitt was elected
j resident. Later Mrs. E. C. Witter was elected
president, with Miss Missouri Stokes, secretary.
Miss Willard in Georgia.
“In April, 1881, at the request of this union,
Miss Frances E. Willard made her first visit to
Georgia. She stayed tjhree days, a|nd lejctureld
eight times to immense audiences at Marietta M.
E. church, Trinity church and in DeGive’s opera
house Here, as everywhere, she created the great
est enthusiasm. She also visited Savannah and
Augusta, and organized unions. Mrs. Charles P.
Green became president of the Savannah union,
and Mrs. W. C. Sibley, president of the Augusta
union. There were also unions at Macon and
Rome. President of Macon union was Mrs. Joseph
Key, and of Rome, Mrs. Mary Sharp.
National Convention of 1882.
“In October, 1882, the National W. C. T. U.
Convention was held in Louisville, Ky. Georgia
was represented by Mrs. W. C. Sibley, Mrs. E. C.
Witter, Miss M. H. Stokes and Miss Lillian Rus
sell. At this convention Mrs. W. C. Sibley was
appointed State President of Georgia, with power
to call the local unions together in a state conven
tion.
“The Georgia Woman’s Christian Temperance
Union was organized in Atlanta at the First Meth
ccist church, by Frances E. Willard, January 11,
1883, only four local unions being represented. At
lanta, Augusta, Rome and Savannah.
“A most excellent paper on ‘Scientific Tem
perance Instruction in the Public Schools,’ was
read by Mrs. J. C. Keyes, and a comprehensive and
tr.rilling report of jail work was given by Mrs.
E. E. Harper, of Atlanta. Superintendents were
appointed for juvenile work, scientific temperance
instruction in the public schools, Sunday school
work, press work, unfermented wine at the sacra
ment, prison work, relative statistics and work
among colored people. Mrs. W. C. Sibley was pres
ident for many years, and was greatly beloved. (
Her mantle fell upon Mrs. Jennie Hart Sibley,
who heroically led the white ribbon army of Geor
gia until the fall of 1905, when on account of fail
ing health, due to her arduous and unremitting la
bors for God and home and native land, she was
c mpelled to lay down the work so dear to her
heart and Mrs. Mary Harris Armor was chosen to
fill the vacancy.
“The officers of the Georgia Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union for the current ensuing year
are: Mrs. Mary Harris Armor, Eastman, Presi
de nt; Mrs. T. E. Patterson, Griffin, Vice-president;
Mrs. M. H. Edwards, Eastman, Corresponding Sec
retary; Miss M. Theresa Griffin, Columbug, ftecord-
lion.
The Golden Age for November 29, 1906.
ing Secretary; Mrs. R. E. Lee Harris, Sparti,
Treasurer. Since the day of its organization the
Georgia Woman’s Christian Temperance Union has
set its face like flint against the legalized liquor
traffic.
An Undaunted Band.
“Never have they for a moment lost faith or
hope in ultimate victory.
“Never have they been deceived by the steal th
irst, and most crafty movements of the foe.
“They have known that high license (unless
absolutely prohibitive) was a fallacy. From the
first they recognized the fact that the dispensary—
that ‘white-masked devil’ of the likuor traffic—
was a delusion and a snare, and it is due to the
efforts of their State President, Mrs. Jennie Hart
Sibley, that Georgia has not today an iniquitous
dispensary law binding her hand and foot.
Moving Mottoes.
“On their banners have ever been written, ‘No
Compromise,’ and ‘Death to the Liquor traffic.’
Eye to eye, hand to hand, foot to foot they have
opposed the enemy at every step. Many a time
have they closed in deadly strife and every time
the sword of the Woman’s Christian Temperance
Union drank blood.
“No battle for local option is ever won by the
liquor men where there is an active and aggressive
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. And there
never will be, for the days of chivalry are not
past. The call of wife and mother, of sister and
sweetheart, today, as ever, stirs every true man’s
heart to high purpose and strenuous endeavor, and
at tiiis call men will defend the home with ballots
as they once did with bullets. In this cause the
hquor men consider the Woman’s Christian Tem
perance Union their most dangerous foe. Not long
since a wholesale liquor dealer was heard to re
mark, ‘Well, I see I won’t make many more
trips to this town as these W. C. T. U.’s have got
here. ’
“Agitate, Educate, Organize.’’
“The watchwords of the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union are: ‘Agitate, Educate, Or
ganize.’
“In Georgia, as in every other state, they have
seemed the passage of a law requiring that the
raiiire of alcohol and -other narcotics shall be
taught all pupils in the public schools. By medal
contests, public meetings, keeping lecturers con
stantly in the field, distributing hundreds of thous
ands of pages of temperance literature, press work,
and by sending -out monthly their own paper, the
Georgia Bulletin, free, they are educating and agi
tating to good purpose.
A Prosperous Period.
“During the last year and a half the organizing
has been prosecuted more vigorously than ever be
fore. Mrs. Nelle G. Bueger, of Clark, Mo., a na
tional organizer, who stands without a peer, has
given her services to Georgia and consequently
Georgia has almost doubled her membership.
“Two unions organized by Mrs. Bueger, viz.:
Hawkinsville and Buena Vista, have been instru
mental in overthrowing the dispensaries in these
towns, thus giving Georgia two more dry counties,
which makes 120.
Prohibition for Georgia.
“The cry now is state prohibition, and in the
language of the state song:
“ ‘ ’Tis not by power nor yet by might,
But by His grace we’ll win the fight.’
“By many tokens God is hearing and answering
the cry for help. People are stirred as never be
fore -on the subject of prohibition. The air rings
with the battle call. On every breeze is borne tid
ii gs of fresh victory. With every good woman
in Georgia in the ranks of the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union, and every good man a member
cf the Anti-Saloon League, the prohibition army
of Georgia will be invincible by any power the
enemy can send against them.
“Let every man and woman who would see Geor
gia. free, enlist under* ‘the white banner of peace
and purity, of patriotism and prohibition, for the
protection of the home and the redemption of hu
manity. ’ ”
Items of General Interest.
During the recent famine in Japan more than
$320,000 was contributed by the United States for
the relief of the sufferers. This contribution ar
rived at least six weeks befroe that sent by any
other country, and it was a prime factor in alleviat
ing the conditions of the starving people of Japan.
Extravagance in dress of American women is
fast becoming almost a national crime. At the
Mew York Horse Show* it is said that the gowns
to be worn by prominent women will amount to
a total cost of $500,000 —two dresses alone belong
ing to Mrs. Reginald Vanderbilt, will cost more
than $3,000.
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A unique method of disposing of government
lands is that adopted by the present administration
when whole towns will be auctioned off to the high
est bidder. Os course these “cities” are at present
embryonic, but the sites are certainly good, being
on the open prairie lands of southern Oklahoma,
which is a most fertile country and capable of un
limited development. This method supersedes the
“boomer runs” which was one old-time method of
disposing of government lands.
Since the days of Ponce de Leon’s fruitless
search for the “Fountain of Eternal Youth,” sci
entists have been seeking a sort of anti-toxin for
old age. Dr. Wolfang Weichardt now positively
asserts that senility is caused by a definite poison
for which a counteracting serum may be discovered.
IL is believed that investigators will yet discover
some serum which, when injected into the body,
will at least defer to a comparatively remote period
the decay of old age.
There is at present a movement on foot to erect
a monument for the Confederate dead who rest
in Arlington Cemetery. An association is organ
ized for this purpose, and already SI,OOO is in its
treasury, the amount having been contributed by
the Robert E. Lee Chapter, Daughters of the Con
federacy of the District of Columbia. As there
are two hundred and ten soldiers buried in the
Confederate section at Arlington, the need of this
movement is most apparent.
Occasionally the eccentricities of individuals
con'ribute to the relief of many thousands of per
sons. A case in point is that in which the will
cl’ a rich woman specifically provided for some plan
by which persons buried alive might communicate
with the sexton and gain release from a premature
tomb. So many cases of premature burial are dis
covered from time to time, though seldom made pub
lic, that the completion of this invention will be
watched with considerable interest.
During recent years there has been no more re
markable progress in surgical matters than that
made in treating brain diseases. Up to twenty
years ago the brain was considered to be unknown
territory, but advanced scientists today remove
brain tumors, operate for epilepsy, which is almost
invariably caused by brain pressure, etc. It is a
cuixous fact, also, that the greatest pain from
brain surgery is the cutting of the surface skin,
as the brain tissue itself is impervious to pain
of any sort, and the systemic shock from brain
surgery is comparatively small.
It is a fact comparatively little known that the
custom of the National Thanksgiving Day had
fallen into disuse until 1864, when a Thanksgiving
Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln, ap
pointing the last Thursday of November as a day
of special’thanks for that year. The person instru
mental in bringing this about was a woman editor
Sarah Josepha Hale, who persuaded Mr. Lineali
to set aside a day for formal giving of thanks. Os
course the origin of the day as celebrated by the
Puritan Pilgrims is well known, but its revival is
seldom remembered.