Newspaper Page Text
Campaigning Against Saloons
By The Editor
Union Springs, Ala.
I felt, somehow, that I was breathing at Union
Springs the ozone of a rare and magic inspiration
when I spoke from the pulpit and walked in the
footprints made vocal and fragrant by the recent
ministry of Adiel J. Moncrief. “Ad.” Moncrief
was my school mate and fellow Ciceronian at Mer
cer. His Dexonian eloquence swept the student body
with enthusiasm and won laurels in oratory for his
alma mater.
But his commanding form was not so high as his
sense of honor nor his eloquence so crystal as the
character that gave it power. How we
loved him at Mercei I How they loved him at Un
ion Springs! And how he is loved now at Forsyth,
where citizens flocked to hear him and hundreds of
Bessie Tift College girls are walking and working
in the light and inspiration of his golden words!
“Come tn Gadsden! We are in a great battle
against bar-rooms in Etowah county, and we want
you to help us!” Thus wrote Hon. J. E. Black
wood, the astute lawyer, formerly mayor of Gads
den, who was the hustling chairman of the cam
paign committee.
Now, I had always liked Gadsden, although I had
never seen the fair little city. My father used to
tell me about “my good friend Col. Jim Aiken,”
as he called him —a guileless gentleman whom he
loved and honored when they were young men to
gether—and somehow, for the sake of my father’s
friend, whom I had never seen, there was a cadence
about the very name of Gadsden. And when I
met him I had to put my arms about the dear old
man, tottering now, and gray, whose kindly face
and warm handclasp brought me a vision fresh
and sweet of the tender
“ . . Touch of a vanished hand
And the sound of a voice that is still.”
Talking To Country People.
The committee pleased me greatly by having the
country people as the special guests on Saturday
morning with dinner on the grounds. How T like
country people! I came from the country my
self —you could tell it, gentle reader, if you could
just see me! And that day at Gadsden the house
was packed with people standing, bringing the
cheering assurance that the rural districts were al
most solid against the saloons which had caused the
downfall of so many of their sons, their fathers and
their broth ens.
I was introduced by Colonel Goodhue, one of the
leading lawyers of Northern Alabama —and, well,
he is a “brick,” whatever that means! He dealt
first with some local matters, and had “more fun
than six monkeys all tied up in one sack” over
this sentence in a local anti-prohibition paper: “Re
member the ballot will be secret. No one will know
how you vote. Vote your convictions. Be a man.’
Saturday night I ran down to Birmingham to see
the great mass meeting of laboring men at the
Hippodrome. Never mind about Saturday night
and threatening weather; four or five thousand
1 ‘men only” packed the great auditorium. Tom
Pound, a locomotive engineer, presided and made a
rousing speech —and every other speech was rous
ing—and the crowd was rousing. We stayed until
about eleven o’clock. Victory was in the midnight
air.
Introduced Three Times By One Man.
Sunday in the Gadsden district I was introduced
three times by Captain Jas. Elliott, Jr., a high
toned Christian gentleman and capitalist, who, fight
ing liquor from his boy hoed, and sticking to nis
business in honor and industry, has worked his way
from a clerk on a steamboat up to the leading
“captain of industry” in all that country.
In the morning, at Alabama City (no saloons al
lowed in its charter), in the afternoon again at
Gadsden, and at night at Attalla, great crowds
gathered to attest their enthusiastic determination
to banish saloons from Etowah county. .
Monday, all dav, we were on the qui vive of ex
pectancy to catch echoes from the Birmingham bat-
The Golden Age for November 14, 1907.
tie. The first news came from a saloon man to his
employe: “The women and children have the
town.” f
And we began to sing the doxolcgy.
W. D. U.
* H
Tennessee College, Murfreesboro.
Though our school is youngest among the real
colleges for the higher education of women in the
South, it is taking high rank. At the close of our
second month we have an enrollment of 1GG —108
of whom are boarders, coming from eight different
States. There is no doubt in our mind but that
the Lord has led in this great enterprise in the
selection of the location as well as in every other
particular.
Murfreesboro is a charming town, and the senti
ment that prevails here, together with the advan
tages offered, makes it an ideal location for such
a school.
We have a faculty of nineteen thoroughly trained,
experienced, consecrated teachers, and the work
in the class rooms is of the very highest order. We
have had a great many visitors from various States
since our opening on September 11th, and the uni
versal verdict of those who have visited our class
rooms is as above stated. The health of the stu
dent body has been extremely good, and when you
know that for the first six weeks our average at
tendance was 98.2 per cent, you can readily see
that this is true.
The young ladies from Kentucky, loyal to their
native heath, have organized a Kentucky Club, and
it is already a vigorous organization with about
thirtv members. There have been two literary so
cieties organized, one known as the Lanier, the
other as the Ruskin; and under the control of the
student body, more especially the literary societies,
is published a magazine called “Tennessee College
Magazine,” to be issued quarterly, containing
fifty pages. The religious life of the school is de
lightful. Our chapel exercises are conducted by
various men teachers, except on Wednesday morn
ing the women of the faculty have charge, with the
men absent.
We have a missionary organization known as the
“Tennessee College Missionary Band,” and under
the auspices of this band the young ladies have a
weekly devotional meeting and a monthly mission
ary meeting, at which time a missionary address
is delivered by some live missionary spirit. The
last one of this series was delivered by Dr. J. W.
Loving, of Glasgow, Ky. The next one will be de
livered by Dr. A. C. Davidson, of this city.
Our departments of music and expression ar©
quite large. President Geo. J. Burnett and his
able faculty have been working unceasingly and un
tiringly since the opening of school, and the re
sults are apparent on every hand. If you do not
want to become a Tennessee College enthusiast, we
would advise you not to visit Murfreesboro; but we
give you a most cordial invitation to visit us at any
lime vou may have an opportunity.
J. HENRY BURNETT.
Bessie Tift College Netos.
On the evening of October 19th, the Elma Smith
Company, of Chicago, rendered a very artistic pro
gram before a most enthusiastic audience.
Dr. J. D. Chapman, of Anderson, S. C., led the
chapel services on October 22d.
Mr. Moncrief, pastor of the Forsyth Baptist
church, conducted a series of meetings at the Col
lege from Sunday night, October 28th, until the
following Saturday night. The services were very
impressive, and were productive of much good to
the students.
Mr. T. B. Ray, Educational Secretary of Foreign
Mission Board, Richmond, Va., addressed the fac
ulty and student body at the prayer meeting and
chapel services on November 4th and sth. His
talks on missions were very helpful, giving the
students a broader view of that great subject.
The second of the series of Lyceum entertain
ments was given in the chapel on Tuesday even
ing, November 5, by Pitt Parker, the Crayon
wizard. His unique drawings, together with his
witty sayings, furnished an evening of pleasure to
the large audience.
The program, “An Evening With Longfellow,”
rendered by the members of the Kappa Delta So
ciety last Saturday evening, was a very unique and
interesting one. The visitors were the members of
the faculty, and invited guests from the Clioniajx
Society. The program on the “Romantic Move
ment,” now being arranged by the Clionians, for
next Saturday evening, promises to be instructive
and entertaining. BESSIE V. NOLES.
Forsyth, Ga.
R *
A Great Neto School,
Educational circles in Florida are all astir over
the sudden “leap into power” of Columbia Col
lege, at Lake City. Occupying the beautiful cam
pus and superb buildings formerly used by the State
University, Columbia College, which will be co-edu
cational, starts with as much, our Florida corre
spondent says, as many institutions have provided in
seventy-five years.
The President, Dr. G. A. Nunnally, goes from the
pastorate of the First Baptist Church at Newnan,
Ga., at the tender age of nearly three score and ten,
to build in the marvelous vigor of youth an insti
tution that will be the crown of his eveningtime.
At eighty parliament hung on Gladstone’s magic
words of wisdom and eloquence, and he was the
uncrowned king of “the common people” of the
world, and at neaily seventy Dr. Nunnally speaks
with as much fire cf eloquence and plans and exe
cutes with more vigor and wisdom than manv lead
ers in manhood’s morn or prime. Georgia loses to
Florida in the building of this new college, and
feels honored by the call to its leadership, of the
“grand old man” who has meant so much to the
constructive side of the religious and educational
life of the State that rejoices to own him as her
son.
* «
Notes From Humboldt,
The school here is in a very prosperous condition.
A new physical and chemical laboratory has been
added to its furnishings, also three very handsome
The High School Department reorganized their
literary society under the name of the “Philoma
thpan Society,” and the first regular meeting has
been held.
A gond prngran? was and a stirring de
bate held. We hope to accomplish much in our so
cietv this vear.
A now grade has heen added tn onr school, which
raises P to the l o v*l of anv citv hi«*h school. Greek,
Latin. High pt Mathematics and Literature are in
cluded in this added course.
SALLIE V. CLEMENT,
Correspondent.
* it
Little Mamie 'Rose.
“It doesn’t take those little Russian children Inng
to catch on to things in this country,” remarked
a teacher of the Educational Alliance. “When one
explains a word to them they never forget it. and
thev are always readv with an illustration of its
meaning, too. I remember that some time ago T
had pxnlninpd to the class the meaning of the word
‘amhignitv.” and then, as the custom is. I turned
about and made them explain the word to me.
“ ‘Now. is there anv one,* I asked, ‘who can
give me an illustration?’
“A grimv little urchin at the back of the room
stuck up his hand.
“ ‘Harp’s an ambiguity for ve.’ he cried. ‘Little
Mamie Rose sat cn a tack —little Mamie Rose.
See?”
“Oh. no.” concluded the teacher, “vou don’t
have to explain a, thing to the East Side child
twice!”—New York Sun,
*
Ella—“ She is a decided blonde, isn’t she?”
Dora—“ Yes. but she only decided recently.”—*
Philadelphia Inquirer
9
