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2 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. <55 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.