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WOMAN’S WORK.
Annual Report of Mrs. M. 1>. Blanch¬
ard Before tlie District Conven
tion’of tlie W. €. T. U. at
Hamilton,Mar. 351,»88.
Tue tempetance subject is one so
vast when we begin to think of all it
embraces and the results, that we
know not where to begin. And yet,
men and women who profess to love
their fellowmen, even among those
who pray for their salvation, will say
they take no interest in the temper
ance cause. It is a dangerous thing
for woman to tamper with; that we
had better let it alone. How can
we, when we are the greatest suffer¬
ers from its results; the wife grows
sick with fear of the future when she
sees her husband sitting in the shade
of this deadly Upas tree. She knows
that no one can come near it without
feeling its deadly poison filling every
vein and at last falling a victim to
its influence. The mother’s heart
trembles when she knows her son is
beginning to love the wine cup. How
then can she keep silent and see this
enemy creeping on perhaps with a
slow step at first, but getting bolder
and bolder as it comes on and not
lift her voice in warning ? There is
an Eastern story told of one Abou
Ben Adhem, who awoke one night
from a dream of peace and saw the
moonlight in his room making it rich,
and like-* lily in bloom, writing in a
book of gold. He asked, “What
writest thou ?” The angel answered,
“The names of those who love the
Lord.” “Is mine there?” he asked.
“No,” replied the angel. Then Abou
softly and cheerily said, “I pray thee,
then, write me as one that loves his
fellowmen.” Next night the vision
came again in still greater glory and
disclosing the names whom love of
God had blessed, and lo! Ben Ad
hem’s name led all the rest. And thus
it is with the white ribbon army. Their
work is the love of saving their fellow
men from temptations that are thrown
around. They see not the deadly
poison hid in the tankard—to show
them this danger is our work. This
work has so many branches I know
not which to take. Many people
think the temperance work is noth
ing but prohibition, the beginning
and the end, but that is not all;
while it tends to that and tnat is the
one great object, I will try to show
you that the W. C. T. U. has other
work for her daughters. Many do
not know its origin nor what its real
work is, how many departments we
have, all of which are well carried
out uy the state superintendents and
the same or almost the same in each
union. The temperance cause is
thoroughly non partisan in politics,
non sectarion in religion, composed
of all political parties and religious
denominations,embracing every phase
of the temperance reform, and in
harmony with every effort and organ
ization which seeks to oppose the
drink and the drink traffic. It is not
confined to one or two states; it is a
c ^ ia * n with a link in every state in
*he Union, from Canada to Mexico,
In P arls °f lhe civilized world and
the ls i an ds of the sea Mrs. Mary
Leavett has gone and is now is on a
m P aroun( ^ the world organizing our
union, and she has met with great
success everywhere.
The origin of this work began in
1873,—15 years ago—in what was
called the crusade. In Fredonia, N.
Y., the protest of woman against the
saloons had begun under the leader
ship of Mrs. Judge Barker; also in
Washington court house on the 24th
noble Mrs. Carpenter led a heroic
band to a tar greater victory. But
the first eddy of this whirlwind ol the
Lord which in a few weeks had swept
over the state of Ohio and grown to
the huge proportion of the “Woman's
Temperance Crusade,” began in
Hillsboro, Ohio, Dec. 23, 1S73. By
common consent of her sisters in the
united churches, Mrs. Eliza Thomp¬
son was chosen to lead this first band
on to victory. We will not attempt
to give the history of this crusade.
But it was the beginning, and like
“Milo, the Sampson of classic lore,
who by lifting a calf each day from
the time of its birth until it was a full
grown ox, developed his strength in
proportion to the growth of his bur¬
den.” The great load that the W.
C. T. U. has so resolutely shouldered
since 18^74, when the first convention
of the temperance workers among
the woman was called to meet in
Cleaveland Nov. 1874, when the
crusade host from 18 states gathered
together to organize. This might/
movement concentrated the gaze of
all Christendom. It has grown till it
is now a great army called from every
state. At the third national conten¬
tion in Newark, the motto,“For God,
Home and Native Land,” was adopt¬
ed. At each convention more work
has been added and the weight of re¬
sponsibility is growing heavier. In
1879, at Indianapolis, Miss Frances
E. Willard WSis elected President and
is stiff filling the chair. I will now pro¬
ceed to the work. In the national con¬
vention w^dmve 39 departments.
Nothing that benefits the young or
old, our home people or the stranger
within the gates has been forgotten.
First the juvenile work.. In this we
try to teach the children the impor
tance of^being temperate in all things.
We show them the influence of all
intoxicants and narcotics on the hu¬
man body. This department is one
of the most important. As we listen
to the tramp! tramp! of the many lit-
tie feet we thank God for them, ie
membering that these children of to
day will be the men of to-morrow,
^ and if they and understand
can see
these great truths we will have a race
of better men and women, and the
world will he benefitted; we will have
a grand army of total abstainers,
j It is a sad sight to see so many
boys of to day making a furnace of
their throats and a smoke-stack of
their noses, and think they are doing
somethin^ grand. Oh! let us teach
| them to shun this evil, the first step
to greater one. Every union should
lake up this work. You will be
the means of saving surne fond moth¬
er's bright eyed boy. There was
never a drunkard, let him be ever so
degraded, but was once the hope ot
somc loving mother. 2. Sunday
school work. For this we have tem
perance lessons, 01 leaflets, that have
been prepared with great care, :md
should be in every S. S. 3. Promo
l* on of Social Purity. 1 his has been
added within the last two years. .This
new crusade comes to us from Eng
land. Its object is to elevate the
masses to those beautiful heights
from whence they can “see God”
because they are “pure in heart.” 4.
Health and Heredity. 5. Prison,
jail, police and alms house work. In
these departments we have a large
field for usefulness. Man/ poor
hardened wretches, who have lost all
fear of the world’s opinion, have lis¬
tened to words of cheer from these
coi secrated women; who have reach¬
ed their sin hardened hearts and
pointed them to the true way of life,
and prayed with them for pardon.
One great evil in the cities and
villages is the children who for trifling
offenses, are incarcerated with mur¬
derers and vilest of mankind making
them worse when they come out than
they were before. To change this
our unions are trying to have indus¬
trial homes for juvenile offenders,
and we hope to see them in every
city and town. Gospel work for
miners and all such industries. Work
among railroad men, influencing the
press, relative statistics, state and
county fairs, work among foreign pop¬
ulation, work among the colored peo¬
ple, unfermented wine for sacremen
Ul uses, influencing influential bodies,
physiological temperance instruction,
flower mission and many more not
yet adopted by the state union. You
see we have a great deal to do; our
calf has grown to a full grown ox,and
our strength grown equal to it; our
work something more than to teach
people to vote for prohibition, and
yet total abstainence is the founda¬
tion on which we build. To be a
! good W. C. T. U. you will have your
hands full, but many hands make the
,
work and the that
we may save some soul should cheer
our hearts and make hie brighter.
Don't say, Oh, we are doing no good.
You don't kjuow—may neve* kqpw
till the lust gr-at day. If you work
quietly, steadily on, with your i>eti
tion ascending to the gieat White
Throne it will influence some one.
God will answer in his own good
time.
Last year I met a young preacher.
He came to me and said: “I must
shake your hand for the sake of that
white badge I see you have on.”
“Why do you honor my badge?” “Be¬
cause I owe to it all I am, or to the
women that wear it,” and this
is his story n s told to me: “I
was the c of a drunkard.
I blush to say it; yet it is the truth.
I had known nothing else. My
mother was heart broken, lost all
pride, yet she tried to teach ns to
read and write. I was following my
fadier’s example, I thought to be
nothing in this life. I met a lady
with a white riobon like the one you
have on ; sire spoke kindly to me; I
*
was astonished; no one ever spoke
to me in tl at way. She told me I
was doing wrong; wasting my life’s
strength; I must stop, and stop now,
or I would be lost, and a great deal
did she say to me; I told her no one
cared for me, the son of a drunkard.
Yes we do, and you can make yonr
self respected if you turn and put
your trust in God, and then she of
fered a prayer for me. I knew not
what to think. From that day, I
was a changed boy. Soon after I
was from home. I heard some one
singing, and stepdped in; it was the
W. C. T. U. meeting. I sat off and
listened. When they prayed every
word was for me, I felt when they
read the good book, it was for inc,
every word I heard was for me, and
when I left that house I determined to
be a man. I had signed the pledge in
my heart. And I did seek and find
pardon. I then felt I was called to
preach. My poor mother now has
sunshine in her home. Through these
white ribbon ladies, I was educated
for the ministry. Do you wonder
why I reverence the ladies who wear
this ribbon ? No, I Did not, and the
first lady who talked to him, will
never know the result of her work,
till the secrets of all hearts are made
known. Then take courage, sisters,
and press on. You do not know the
good your example will do. Banish
the deceiver from your home. Nev¬
er let your son say, I learned to love
the taste of wine at my mother's ta¬
ble in the wine sauces. Who can
estimate the influence of young
ladies ? So we have a Y. W. C. T.
U. This is composed of young
ladies and they let in young men
who have determined to lead sober