CHAPTER XIII.

The friends of temperance in this State, after a long and earnest

conflict, secured the passage of a Local Option law by a decided

majority.

This law provided that on the call of a certain number of voters a

special election should be held and a vote of the town be taken, for,

or against license. At several points signal victories had been gained;

the temperance women of the State giving active aid and sympathy to

the cause. Sallie Hart, a young lady of San Francisco, of unusual

ability and irreproachable character, was very active and efficient

at the temperance meetings and at the polls. Her life was threatened,

and she was warned to desist or suffer the consequences. But she was

too heroic to quail before the enemies of her country and her race,

and in the conflict that followed she came near losing her life. The

very same class that has for years committed outrages on the Chinese

would have torn her to pieces if it had not been for the courage and

untiring efforts of the police, and a brave band of temperance men and

order-loving citizens.

The first great victory was at Oakland. This city is one of the most

beautiful places in California. It is situated just across the bay from

San Francisco, and is embowered in flowers, and shaded with live oaks.

These beautiful trees are always fresh and green. It had become a city

of elegant residences, but the beer-trade was ruining it, property was

depreciating, and the property-owners were almost unanimous in the

desire to banish the drinking-saloons.

Oakland was the third city of the State. After doing all they could do

preparatory for the contest, the women went to the polls and worked all

day. Their methods were novel and taking. They had a large tent, where

a free lunch was spread. Tea, coffee, and everything that was elegant

and inviting were provided. Barrels of ice-water were at hand, so that

no man should have an excuse to go to the drinking-saloon to quench his

thirst.

Bushels of bouquets were in readiness, and ballots “_Against License_”

in hand, and all who would accept the ballot got a bouquet and a

pleasant “Thank you.”

The liquor men were confident that they would have a _large_ majority,

but the ladies turned the tide, and a victory for temperance was gained.

A grand mass-meeting was held in their tent in the evening, and the

temperance people and the property-owners of Oakland were jubilant. The

Saturday following, the ladies went in force to Brooklyn, a neighboring

town, and aided in gaining another victory. The work went on gloriously

throughout the State.

Dr. Jewell, of Howard Street M. E. Church, San Francisco, preached a

stirring sermon from the text: “Rise up, ye women that are at ease,

hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear to my speech.” Isa.

xxxii. 9; with a view to arouse the women for work in that city.

On the 2d of July, 1874, an election, under the provisions of the

Local Option law, was held in the proverbially quiet town of Alameda,

California.

I gather the following facts from well-authenticated accounts:

“During the day of the election, the place was invaded by an army of

men from San Francisco, organized in the interests of liquor, who, by

mob-violence, took possession of the streets and avenues to the polls,

and committed the most outrageous insults to American citizenship, both

to men and women, that have ever yet been known in all the history of

the State.

“From the course pursued by the organized liquor interest in San

Francisco, under whose auspices the outrages at Alameda seem to have

been committed, it is evident that the liquor interests of our whole

country have combined to resist _all_ law, social, moral, and civil,

whenever and wherever such law interferes with their degrading business.

“The _facts_ of the Alameda outrages ought to be made known to every

citizen of the State and the country. They show, as nothing else has

ever shown, the animus and purpose of the ‘whiskey interest.’ Sensible,

sober people, want to know the truth.”

The _Evening Post_ dared to publish the facts. It has exposed the

falsehoods so widely circulated, and has denounced the outrage and the

perpetrators in leading editorials of great force and merit.

THE REIGN OF TERROR INAUGURATED.

_The scene as described in the Chronicle and Post next day._

“Not far from the middle of the day, the train from San Francisco

arrived and deposited upon the street one hundred and fifty members

of the San Francisco German Saloon-Keepers’ Society, headed by the

United States Fourth Artillery Band. Instantly it was seen that there

was trouble ahead. The delegation was composed mostly of young and

irresponsible men.

“They at once formed in line, and being joined by as many more already

in the street, they started for the polling-place to the music of the

band. When the procession dispersed, a large throng at once crowded

on the corner near the polling-place. ‘Down with Sallie Hart!’ they

shouted, and at the same time pressed in around her. Fortunately

several powerful gentlemen happened to be near her, or she would

inevitably have been crushed in the excited mass.

“‘Go home, you little red-head!’ ‘Get out of this, and go home!’ was

the cry. The crowd pressed, and swore, and hooted, and yelled, and

shrieked. ‘Down with her!’ ‘Drive her off the street!’ ‘Give her a

kiss; that’s what she wants!’ ‘Don’t let her speak!’ In vain did the

poor girl cry, ‘For shame, gentlemen!’ In vain did her few friends

surge, and squeeze, and try to force an opening for retreat. In vain

did the police shout and brandish their clubs. The crowd only hooted

and howled their insults all the more. Finally, a narrow passage was

made, and through it the girl was half-dragged into an adjoining store.”

Thence, after a few moments, she was escorted by a strong cordon of

police and temperance men to the ladies’ tent. The crowd caught sight

of her as she left the store, and at once surged and pressed around,

their yells and gestures increasing each moment in violence. Slowly the

young lady and her escorts made their way to the tent, unable to resent

or stop the torrent of vile epithets which assailed them. Once inside,

Sallie sat down almost exhausted, but the crowd were not satisfied.

They yelled fiercely, “Take Sallie Hart home or we’ll tear down the

tent!” “She shan’t stay here!” “Say, you old Gibson; take her home,

do you mind, or we’ll kill her.” With these remarks, the vast throng

shook their fists and swore they wouldn’t quit the spot until Sallie

Hart and every other woman had promised that they would not again show

their faces. The temperance men, headed by Dr. W. R. Gibbons, Dr.

Densmore, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Hurlburt, and others, at once took measures

to protect the tent and the ladies in it from violence. A strong force

of police was instantly summoned, who drew a rope around the entrance

and endeavored to keep the excited crowd outside.

One old lady of at least sixty years, with silver-gray hair, splendid

black eyes, and a commanding figure, ventured out in the belief that

her age and appearance would command an outward show of respect. She

took a bundle of No License tickets and a small bouquet, and got as

far as the street, near the polling-place. The hooting crowd made for

her and she was surrounded in a twinkling. “Go home, old woman,” they

shouted; “go home and mend your husband’s breeches!” Then followed a

series of yells and groans and cat-calls, interspersed with cries of

“Sour kraut,” “Limberger,” and “Go it, old granny!”

Whenever the old lady would open her lips to speak, she would be

instantly set upon, and her voice completely drowned. But she held out

bravely. Mounting a piazza, her great black eyes flashing with the rage

of a pythoness, she hurled defiance at the jeering crowd and tried to

shame it into decency. One man filled his cheeks with tobacco-smoke and

blew it into her face. Another spat on her dress; a third trod on her

feet, and all pushed and jostled her in a most unmanly way. Finally,

when some one in the crowd hurled an atrociously obscene epithet at

her, the old lady burst into tears and shrank away in disgust.

About half-past two o’clock a litter was rigged behind a building,

a five-gallon demijohn placed on it, and alongside the demijohn was

laid an effigy of Sallie Hart, dressed in black. In the mouth of the

demijohn was stuck a stick, from which flew a black flag. The litter

was lifted to the shoulders of a crowd of men with evergreens in

their hats. An immense procession was formed, and preceded by the

band playing the “Dead March in Saul,” it marched back and forth in

front of the temperance tent, amid the hooting and jeering of the

multitude. An effort was made at this time to drown the din by singing

the Hallelujah chorus, but the effort was a lamentable failure. The

funeral procession marched to a pile of sand near the tent, where, amid

the waving of hats and hoarse cheers of the throng, the “body” of Miss

Hart was prepared for interment. The litter was lowered to the ground,

a hole dug, and then, strict silence being enjoined, Louis Kehlmeyer

intoned _a burlesque of the Catholic burial “service.”_

The _Evening Post_, on the day after election, contained the following:

The brutal outrages perpetrated by German whiskey men, who went over

to Alameda yesterday, and insulted, mobbed, and drove off ladies

who had as much right there as themselves, will arouse a feeling of

indignation in the heart of every right-thinking American citizen.

California has always been noted for her chivalry to women, and every

Californian’s face must burn that such an outrage has been perpetrated

in a California town. Things have come to a pretty pass when a lot of

vile brutes who have no respect for womanhood themselves, can publicly

insult ladies in the grossest manner; compel them, under threats of

violence, to get out of their way, and openly burlesque the most solemn

ceremony of a Christian church.

Our laws, and the American sentiment, which is deeper than all laws,

guarantee to every woman who conducts herself in an orderly and decent

manner, immunity from insult and outrage. To the American mind there is

in womanhood a sacred right and essential privilege, recognized even by

the lowest and most brutal, which gives to every woman exemption from

insult and outrage. This sentiment the brutal wretches who insulted

and drove off the ladies at Alameda, yesterday, appeared to have

defied with deliberate intention. How far the general association of

liquor-dealers may have been responsible for it we do not know; but the

German Liquor-Dealers’ Association, which went to Alameda in a body,

and their fellows on the ground seem to have deliberately made up their

minds to drive off the ladies by whatever stretch of brutality was

necessary. One of the Germans had a double-barrelled gun, with which he

marched in the procession, and several of them had pistols. One lady

said that a man in the crowd spit upon her, and another that she had

liquor thrown in her face. Another lady was seated in a buggy when the

whiskey men marched past her with the black flag, which they placed

over the grave that held Sallie Hart’s effigy; and one of them shook

the flag in her face and said, “Death to temperance!”

Judge J. Russell said he had been in California, and had travelled a

good deal in it, having roamed over the coast in early days, from this

city to the mouth of the Columbia river, and visited many of the mining

camps. He had never seen so rough a crowd as was present at Alameda.

Mr. N. A. Hillyer said the obscenity was frightful.

“I took an old lady by force from the crowd, and put her into the

barber’s shop for protection. I saw men poke sticks under the old

lady’s dress and raise her clothes as she stood on a tea-box before the

mob. I also saw the mob bury Sallie Hart in effigy, and the black flag

rising above the grave. I heard profanity and obscenity from the mob.

I have been in all kinds of society, in Catholic and Protestant lands,

but I never heard anything like the profanity used on that occasion. A

pistol was drawn on me for remonstrating against license.”

STATEMENT OF REV. O. GIBSON, OF SAN FRANCISCO.

At the Alameda election, from morning till night, the air was

filled with profanity, obscenity, and the most outrageous insults

to pure American womanhood--not by citizens of Alameda, but by the

representatives of the “German Liquor-Dealers’ Association,” of San

Francisco.

From twelve o’clock to three P. M. I remained in front of the

temperance tent, aiding the friends in efforts to defend the women

in the tent from being overrun and outraged by the howling mob which

surrounded and threatened them. At three o’clock I passed, quietly

and alone, to the office to send a telegram. On coming out of the

office, I was at once surrounded by a large crowd, who seemed to be

waiting to take the cars. My presence was the signal for howls, curses,

and threats, such as: “Gibson, the old rooster, send him home.” “Go

home, d--n you.” “You don’t vote right.” “We don’t want you here.”

“We Germans be the most intelligence peoples.” “You Yankees be d--d

fanatics,” and so on. I did not undertake to discuss the question with

such a crowd. But they pressed upon me--one man from behind kicked

me, another struck me, and then an effort was made to push me down. At

last, the police succeeded in opening the crowd, and I passed out.

The crowd followed, howling, for the distance of one whole block; then

the police succeeded in getting me into a store, and I passed through

and escaped out of their hands.

On returning to San Francisco, per four o’clock boat from Oakland,

attended by five other persons, some of whom had only been to Oakland

on business, a party of the Alameda rioters followed us in the streets

of this city, up as far as the post-office, with jeers and cat-calls,

making such a demonstration as to call many people to the shop doors to

see what was going on.

Mr. J. N. Webster, in the _Post_, of July 9th, says:

Mr. John Gunn, one of our best and most respected citizens, had his

coat torn off his back because he dared to advocate the right.

Sallie Hart remained on the field, doing all the good she could, until

there were _certain signs_ that they intended to kill her, when she was

taken away.

William F. Kellett, in the _Post_, of July 12th, tells us:

At Alameda, on last Thursday, scenes were enacted which are absolutely

unparalleled in the history of our elections, and with which the

opinions of the parties therein had nothing whatever to do. Yet in some

of the papers not a single word of censure has been uttered, while some

have actually justified them. That murder was not committed was because

the threatened did not dare to lift a hand, while other things were

done which would almost have justified the death of the offender on

the spot, and which I cannot name, however remotely.

AFFIDAVIT OF OFFICER KRAUTH.

I told the reporter about the crowd hooting and yelling, and trying

to get into the ladies’ tent, and endeavoring to create a disturbance

all the time, and trying to pick quarrels with the people and police.

I told him that the rope around the tent was cut seven times, and gave

him other information of a similar character. From the time the San

Francisco crowd arrived, there was one continuous scene of disgraceful

riot, until they left, late in the afternoon. I believe there were two

trains of cars, with eight cars each, all filled with people, who came

from San Francisco and Oakland; and we had but fifteen officers to try

and preserve order. It was impossible to arrest anybody, owing to the

crowd, and all that we could do was to prevent fighting. I have read

the report of the occurrences at Alameda on the day of the local option

election, as published in the _Post_, and it is substantially correct.

F. K. KRAUTH, JR.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 13th day of July, 1874.

SAMUEL S. MURFEY, Notary Public.

These outrages passed unpunished, and the whole liquor force rallied

against the Local Option law. They were not willing that majorities

should rule, but determined to force drink, against the express will

of the people, upon them, and compel the protesting legal voters and

tax-payers to submit to a depreciation of the value of their property,

and support the paupers and criminals, the result of their traffic.

They therefore carried a case to the courts, and obtained a decision,

that _the Local Option law was unconstitutional_. A wide-spread opinion

prevailed at the time that the court was corrupted; but there was no

redress. Nothing was left but to work, and pray, and wait, till the

public sentiment was strong enough to master the rowdyism of society,

and hurl from power the officials that truckle to the base demands of

the liquor oligarchy.

OREGON.

I gather the following thrilling facts from a published account by Mrs.

F. F. Victor:

A meeting was called at the Baptist Church, Tuesday, March 10th, to

consider the methods used in the Crusade movement. From this time

on, meetings were held daily, morning, noon, and night. The subject

of temperance was discussed from every possible standpoint, and,

after much thoughtfulness and prayer, the ladies decided to visit the

saloons. The gentlemen organized a society to assist the ladies.

On the 17th of March, a printed appeal was sent to the liquor-dealers,

copies of which, in large type, were posted around the city. The

ministers of the town, Revs. Medbury, Baptist, Atkinson and Izer,

Methodist, and Eaton, Congregationalist, by frequent and stirring

addresses, and in every possible way, assisted the ladies.

The first visit to saloons was made in small companies, two and two,

going quietly. In most of the places they were politely treated, Mr.

Moffett being the exception. Two elderly ladies, mothers in Israel,

called at his door to leave the dealers’ pledge, when the brutalizing

influence of the liquor business upon those who sell was conspicuously

exhibited. When they entered, Mr. Moffett, on the alert, without giving

them time to announce their errand, seized them each rudely by an arm,

and thrust them into the street, exclaiming, “Get out of this. I keep a

respectable house, and don’t want any d--d wh--s here.”

Long and earnest prayers had given these women a preparation which Mr.

Moffett had not calculated on. Mrs. Reed, one of the two thus insulted,

turned and looked up over the door to ascertain what sort of a place,

kept by what sort of a man, this might be, and the name struck her with

horror.

“Walter Moffett!” she exclaimed. “Can this be Walter Moffett? Why,

Walter Moffett, I used to know you; and I prayed with your wife for

your safety, when you were at sea years ago!”

“I don’t want any of your d--d prayers; I want you to get out of this,

and stay out. That’s all I want of you. I don’t keep a wh--e house.”

If any suppose it does not require an utter consecration to prepare

pure-minded ladies to encounter such base and ruffianly assaults as

these, they are in error; for the most patient and persistent laborers

in this field are meek and quiet Christian women, who have seldom or

never spoken aloud in their own churches; humble women who have never

essayed to lead in anything, not even the fashions.

After this quiet canvass, the ladies visited the saloons in force.

Often the saloons were closed against them, and they were compelled to

hold their services on the street. This only brought them the larger

audiences. Often, too, they were assailed by abusive language, and even

roughly handled. This, too, opened the eyes of many to the brutalizing

effects of drink, and led them to declare, that if that was what

whiskey brought men to, they would never drink another drop.

At the Oregon Exchange very often, when a visit from the ladies was

anticipated, some ridiculous or scandalous performance was gotten

up, to divert them from their purpose; such as a man fantastically

dressed, _a la_ negro minstrels, dancing, drinking from a bottle, etc.

One of the worst places visited was kept by two women. With these the

ladies felt they must succeed. On their second visit, as the ladies

approached, one of the women flew in a rage to close the door; the

other woman objected, and they were admitted. One of them was penitent,

and listened tearfully to their words, and promised to lead a different

life.

At one German saloon the proprietor rushed out when he saw the ladies

coming, and swinging his arms and shaking his fists in the most excited

manner, exclaimed: “Vot you vant here? You shust go vay! Get off mine

sidevalk! Vat you come here so mooch, braying and singing, and making

my license so pig? You shust go vay! I vill not haf it! Vat you vant?

You make a church of mine house! Ruin mine pizness! No, no, you can do

dat; you moost come here no more. You shust come here vonce more, you

vill see vat I vill do mit you! My Piple says you moost not bray on de

street corners, but you moost bray at home. You go home to bray.”

The band commenced singing a hymn, and the irate German retreated

into his saloon. As they were passing on, he gazed after them as if

horror-stricken:

“Vell if dere is not a burty young girl mit dose vimmen! Vot a shame!”

Probably, he thought, a hurdy-gurdy house a better place for a “burty

young girl” than “mit dose vimmen.”

At the more respectable houses they were treated with civility, and

were allowed to hold services in the saloons and the billiard rooms,

and no drinks were sold during their stay. But from the beginning of

the Crusade, the opposition of the liquor-dealers, both wholesale and

retail, was steady and united. Secret meetings were held from time to

time to consider the most effectual means of combating the growing

temperance sentiment. The loss of money and the loss of reputation

was the burden of their complaint. What transpired in these secret

sessions can only be judged by the plans they adopted publicly. It

seemed to fall to Mr. Moffett’s share to try the effect of fire,

water, and noise, in “abating the nuisance of prayer and singing.”

On one occasion, when the ladies visited the Web Foot saloon, Mr.

Moffett made such demonstrations as drew about them a great crowd of

people and obstructed travel. This was just what he desired, as it

gave him an excuse for calling in the police, who were ordered to

disperse the crowd, meaning the women. One of the officers, acting on

the instructions given him, began not only to order away the women,

but laid violent hands on them, and, without respect to the gray hairs

of some, pushed them rudely about, bruising the shoulder of one lady

against the post of the awning.

As they were compelled to yield to force, without a word of

remonstrance they started back toward the church. But one lady put her

arm through the officer’s arm, and told him with much firmness, that if

_she_ went, _he_ should go too! to which he was constrained to submit.

The occasion was improved to the edification of that officer, who was

met at the church and confronted, not with Crusaders only, but a goodly

number of indignant friends.

The next day they were out as usual, and were arrested before the Web

Foot saloon, and taken to the city jail, where they spent a couple of

hours in prayer and song, to their own refreshment, and the delight of

the other prisoners. Counsel was not lacking who volunteered to defend

them. A special session of the court was called, Messrs. C. W. Parish

and H. Y. Thompson appearing for the accused. After a hearing of the

complaint, Judge Denny decided that there was no ordinance under which

they could be held, saying, in substance, that had there been such an

ordinance it would have been illegal, as the Constitution of the State

of Oregon and of the United States permitted every person to worship

God according to the dictates of his own conscience.

The arrest of the ladies created, of course, a strong feeling of

indignation in the community among their friends, and rejoicing among

their enemies.

On the afternoon of the 16th of April, 1874, the Crusaders, sixteen

in number, paid another visit to the Web Foot saloon. But no sooner

had they appeared in front of his place, and asked permission to pray

and sing there, than Mr. Moffett blew his policeman’s whistle, and

by means of gongs, drums, hand-organs, etc., collected a large crowd

which soon entirely surrounded them; in this situation they maintained

their calmness and endeavored to carry on their devotional exercises.

The noise of gongs and drums, tin cans and hand-organs, together with

the murmurings and shoutings of the mob, was so great that they were

not heard even by themselves. But still they sang and knelt in prayer,

keeping a serene and joyous trust in God.

The scene which was then and there enacted rivalled pandemonium. Many

of the friends of the ladies anxious for their safety hurried to the

place, augmenting the crowd already collected, thereby increasing

the apparent danger. A large proportion of those present were street

idlers, some of them roughs and blackguards; but even the roughest,

if not intoxicated, felt the course Mr. Moffett was taking to be

uncalled-for and outrageous, and were disposed to fight in behalf of

the women.

The ladies, on their part, could not be heard, even in remonstrance.

To escape from the crowd would have been nearly impossible, if they

had made the effort. But they did not make the effort. Their faith in

the protection of God, and His very presence with them, never wavered.

Although they could not communicate with each other, because of the

roar and clamor of the mob, each one of them felt so firmly impressed

with the sense of security in Divine assistance, that not one of them

betrayed or felt any fear. Pistols and knives were drawn, furniture

thrown about, and windows broken. One lady was struck by a tumbler

thrown out of the saloon, and another had a pistol held at her head by

Mr. Moffett himself.

This strange scene was prolonged from half-past two o’clock in the

afternoon until six in the evening--until the gong-beaters, drummers,

and organ-grinders had become exhausted, and the mob was weary of

its own riotousness. When the way was cleared, the ladies took their

leave, having endured for three and a half hours such things as would

commonly have driven them mad with fright, or caused them to faint or

go into convulsions. If there are those who do not believe in Divine

interposition in certain cases, here is a problem for them to solve.

More than one man that day was convinced of his sins; and quite a

number of drinking men declared themselves converted to temperance,

simply by witnessing the depths of degradation to which the habit of

selling liquor could bring a man.

The wife of an Irish drayman said to a friend of the Crusaders, “My

husband is a drinking man, and many is the dollar he has spent at

Moffett’s, but he says he will never buy another glass at that place.”

Among the children whom Mr. Moffett was trying to press into his

service was a little son of one of the Crusaders. Being told to beat

a drum, he took the sticks and threw them among the crowd. On being

threatened with punishment if he did not recover them, he ran in among

the crowd as if to look for the lost sticks, but instead made his way

to his mother, who was kneeling in prayer, and remained by her side

until she left the place.

It may be asked, what were the police doing all this time?

On the previous occasion Judge Denny had dismissed the complaint, so it

seemed of little use to arrest the ladies, and they allowed Mr. Moffett

to conduct his riot in his own fashion.

On the following morning they visited the saloons, and in due time

appeared before Mr. Moffett’s; immediately a crowd was attracted to

the spot in expectation that the scenes of the day before would be

repeated. But they were disappointed. Mrs. Moffett was there with one

of her children, and no disturbance was raised. She appealed to the

ladies to leave her husband to his own ways; but was met by an eloquent

counter-appeal by one of the band, whose father had perished by drink,

and whose son, though carefully reared, was on the road to ruin from

the same cause.

At half-past eleven, Chief-of-Police Lappens appeared, bearing a

warrant, which, upon being shown to the ladies, they obeyed by

accompanying him to the jail. An immense crowd followed to the very

entrance of the building, to which the Crusaders gave no heed, but

entered, singing,

“All hail the power of Jesus’ name.”

At one o’clock P. M., the court convened. The usual dock was filled

with ladies as well as half the usual audience-room outside the bar.

The charges against them were made by Mr. Moffett, for “wilfully and

unlawfully conducting themselves in a disorderly and violent manner, by

making a loud noise, and creating a disturbance whereby the peace and

quiet of the said city was disturbed.” _Mr. Cronin_ was Mr. Moffett’s

counsel, and Messrs. Parish, Northrop, and Shoup defended the ladies.

This, as will be seen, was a charge made by Mr. Moffett himself, who

had prepared for and conducted the riot himself, while the ladies stood

as silent witnesses of the scene. Mr. Cronin opened the case. Mr. Gibbs

responded. He said processions had marched through the town, blockading

the streets; the gospel had been preached to listening crowds at the

street corners; Chinamen had come out on the public thoroughfares,

beating gongs, exploding fire-crackers, and making hideous noises; and

for all this there never had been an arrest. It would be shown that if

the peace and quiet of the city were disturbed, that they did not do

it; that they broke nobody’s window, harmed no man, woman, or child,

and that they were not responsible for the beating of gongs, or the

sounding of trumpets, and the hooting and howling of disorderly men.

Moffett was the first witness. I can only give a part of his testimony.

Being cross-examined, he said:

“There was a great crowd, probably a thousand persons, two or three

fights took place, and a man was stabbed. At the time the disturbance

was going on, the women sung very loud.”

“But did you see the defendants do anything?”

“They would not move when I asked them.”

“What were you doing?”

“Trying to keep the peace.” (Laughter.)

“Did you have a pistol to keep the peace with?”

“No, sir.”

“Now I ask you if you did not have a pistol in your hand at the time

this occurrence took place?”

“Yes.”

“Then when you stated a while ago that you did not have a pistol, you

did not state what was true?”

“I did not have it to keep the peace with, but for protection; they

were stealing my property.”

This is a sample of Moffett’s testimony.

Allen Griffith testified for the defence, to having seen Moffett’s

barkeeper, Good, throw water, by means of a hose, on the sidewalk, at

the saloon, while the ladies were present; also saw Good in a row--saw

him close to the ladies.

Mr. Shoup.--What was he doing at that time?

Witness.--One of the times when he was particularly near to them he was

holding a gong within a few inches of a lady’s ear, and beating it very

loudly. I saw him lift her veil at one time.

C. H. Williams spoke of having been attracted to Moffett’s saloon,

April 16th, by the noise of gongs and drum-beating.

Mr. Cronin (Moffett’s attorney).--Was your wife among the ladies that

day?

Witness.--She was not; I only wish she had been.

Mr. Cronin asked Thomas A. Royal, of the Portland Academy, another

witness, if he had counselled the women not to go to Moffett’s saloon.

He answered: “I have not, but I have asked my wife to go.”

This, though a small part of the testimony, will show the drift of the

trial, which lasted four days. The testimony was clear as to the pure

moral character and good behavior of the women; the speeches for the

defence of the women were able. The case was one of the clearest that

ever went before an American jury.

Judge Denny briefly charged the jury, reminding them that all they were

called upon to decide, from the evidence, was, whether the defendants

were guilty, as charged in the complaint, of wilfully and unlawfully

making a loud noise, whereby the peace and quiet of the city was

disturbed. They were also advised that it would be their duty to give

the prisoners the benefit of any reasonable doubt. The jury was out

several hours, but returned with a verdict of “guilty,” but recommended

to the merciful consideration of the court. Upon the request of Mr.

Parrish, the judge consented to stay sentence till the next morning, to

give defendants time to file a motion to arrest judgment. The motion

to arrest judgment being overruled, the ladies presented the following

protest:

“_Your Honor_: We do protest against any sentence being passed upon us,

for the following reasons:

“1. That the verdict was contrary to the testimony, and to the charge

of your honor, in that the testimony clearly shows, by numerous

witnesses, that we were quiet and orderly in the midst of disorder and

confusion. To such an extent did some of us preserve quiet, that we did

not so much as open our mouths, either in song or in prayer, as your

honor will observe by referring to the testimony.

“2. We, as temperance women, do earnestly protest against being

sentenced on the finding of a jury composed in part of liquor-dealers,

who, according to the words of their oath, had already prejudged us.

“If we may be allowed to mention the work in which we are engaged, we

should like to do so. The crime being supposed to be in the intent, we

would remind your honor that the husbands and fathers of the land are

being stricken down on every side by this vile traffic against which

we wage war, and that the sons of the land are so beset by temptation

that very many of them fall early into a drunkard’s grave, and many

more who live on, but live to disappoint the fond hopes which are

centred in them, and which, but for this fell destroyer, they might

fulfil. These evils, your honor, are not in far-off lands, but at our

own doors, as that wife can testify, who a few months since went to a

prominent saloon in this city and plead with the proprietor to sell her

husband no more liquor, as her life was in danger whenever that husband

came home under its influence, and she was coldly told: ‘O, well, if

I do not sell him liquor some one else will.’ Of that other wife whose

twenty years’ experience has deprived her of everything the heart holds

dear, ‘but her trust in God,’ whose husband can go and keep the books

at this same saloon, and Saturday night take his pay in this cursed

fire-water, and go to his home to make it such a hell upon earth that

the children must be sent from the house and the wife remain in terror

of her life. Such instances are not rare; and it is in behalf of these

suffering sisters that we act. We have not power to amend the laws; but

since the day when woman was first at the sepulchre, it has been her

conceded right to pray, and this right we claim as inalienably ours.

“The jury have kindly recommended us to mercy; we ask no mercy--we

demand JUSTICE.”

THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION.

The judge, with evident embarrassment, replied that the jury had been

fairly and “impartially selected in accordance with law.” He also took

occasion to advise the ladies not to attempt to overcome the evil they

were warring against by such means as they had been using, but to go to

the “fountain head.”

The penalty was five dollars fine each, or one day’s imprisonment. The

ladies refused to pay the fine or allow the gentlemen present to pay

it for them, electing to go to prison. They were shown to their common

apartment in the jail, and gave up their only weapon, their Bibles.

There was an indignation meeting in one of the churches that night, and

between eight and nine o’clock, fearing the people, an officer came to

the jail and rudely ordered them to leave. The ladies hesitated about

going out into the darkness alone, expressing a preference to remain,

to which he replied, “I’m boss here; you leave.” Thus thrust out, they

made their way to the church. The first intimation the audience had

of the release of the ladies was their presence in the church. Such

enthusiastic cheering took place as had never been heard within those

walls. When the tumult had subsided, some of the ladies made short

addresses, in which they recounted the circumstances of their dismissal

and their hesitating flight.

The Crusade work continued without any abatement of zeal. The

liquor-dealers held meetings to devise means to protect their rights.

Their doors were closed, and the women met with universal coldness

and hardness. Mr. Moffett persisted in his open insults, treating the

ladies with great personal indignity. At last forbearance gave way,

and Mr. Moffett was arraigned for insulting conduct toward Mrs. H.

B. Stitzel. The case was tried before Justice Ryan, with a jury of

liquor-men. Mr. Moffett was discharged. Another complaint was entered

by Mrs. Alice Fain, for assault, by making her ill by burning some

poisonous substance in her face. In both these cases Mr. Moffett was

defended by E. A. Cronin, who seemed to be inspired by the spirit of

his employer, and grossly insulted the ladies by telling them, in his

speech, that he believed they were as base and corrupt in heart “_as

any woman in this town, no matter what her calling or character_.” The

jury in this case, which was tried before Justice Crich, consisted of

four liquor-men and two Germans. Moffett was again discharged.

An enthusiastic meeting of ladies was held, and able speeches

were made, and published. The better class of citizens, and the

Congregational Church, in council, gave the Crusaders their formal

indorsement. In the meantime the usual work of visiting the saloons

went on; petitions were circulated; and public sentiment thoroughly

aroused.

On the 18th June, the mayor approved an ordinance, which had been

secured mainly through their influence, raising the license from $50 to

$100 per quarter, and requiring $1,000 bonds to keep orderly houses,

with some other restrictions. This aroused the liquor-men to still

greater opposition. One gentleman, whose wife was connected with the

Crusade, was notified to take his wife off the street or suffer the

loss of his business, through the enmity of the liquor association.

“Very well,” he replied, “it took a higher power than I to place her on

the street, and it will require a higher power to remove her. If you

want to ruin my business, you can try it. I will certainly fight yours

as long as I live.”

But they had many kind words, and much to encourage them in their

difficult work. Mrs. A. C. Gibbs arose in a ladies’ meeting one day,

and told the Crusaders, for their encouragement, that during a visit

to Puget Sound, from which she had just returned, she had learned,

to her surprise, that the temperance movement had produced the best

effects over there. In a conversation between the captain of a Sound

steamer, and other gentlemen, it was asserted that the liquor traffic

had fallen off one-third; that he knew it by the less amount he carried

on his boat. Also, that whereas all the men on his vessel used to take

their grog, none of them did so now; and that a drinking-stand, kept on

one of the wharves for the express convenience of this class of men,

which used to make a profit of twenty-seven dollars a day, dwindled

in its receipts to three dollars, and finally closed. Such a fact was

certainly encouraging, as a result of four months of labor, no matter

how arduous.

MURDER IN A SALOON.

On the Saturday evening immediately preceding the city election, at

nine o’clock, a certain lady was reciting to the audience at the church

an incident that came under her notice four years previous, of a

woman’s shooting a man in a Portland saloon because he failed to vote

as he was instructed, after having been furnished free drinks for a

month at her place.

Almost at that very moment, a murder was being perpetrated in a place

of similar character, but under somewhat different circumstances. In

this case the woman had only given the murderer drugged liquor enough

to make him either stupid or crazy. Unfortunately it had the latter

effect, and to save herself from his pistol she had called on the

police, and officer Schoppe entering at the moment when the deadly

instrument was raised, was instantly shot fatally, and fell.

Here was a pointed example, if such were wanting, of the criminality

of the saloon business. It _might_ be made use of to influence the

election on Monday. But it was not; because it happened late Saturday

evening, and on Sunday, at one o’clock, the man was buried out of sight!

THE ORDINANCE AGAIN.

When the new councilmen came in they found the ordinance increasing

liquor licenses signed by the mayor, and ready to go into effect with

the commencement of the quarter beginning July 1st. An effort was

immediately made to get an ordinance passed reducing licenses to their

former rates; but this was prevented by the mayor, two of the old

councilmen and one of the new.

Then followed a petition from fifty-six liquor-sellers and eighty-seven

others, to have licenses reduced to fifty dollars per quarter, and

such pressure brought to bear upon the council that the mayor notified

the temperance people that unless they sent in a counter-petition, the

council might not be able to withstand it.

Accordingly a counter-petition was circulated, and one hundred and

thirty names obtained, of the heaviest tax-payers in the city, who were

_not_ liquor-dealers. Both petitions went before the council. That same

evening an ordinance was passed and approved by the mayor, reducing

licenses to fifty dollars! It contained, it is true, some provision for

bonds being given; but how soon may we look to see even that repealed?

What is this power of whiskey that makes men disregard everything else?

An attempt was made to pass a law against singing and praying in the

street, but it was not successful. The council did, however, ordain

that no drinking-houses should be kept by women. I add the names of the

noble women of Portland, who consecrated themselves to this work, and

pursued it so successfully, notwithstanding the apathy of the masses,

the corruption of the courts, and the ruffianism of the saloon-keepers:

Mrs. M. A. Mitchell; Mrs. Helen Sparrow; Mrs. J. H. Reid; Mrs. Jane

Pierpont; Mrs. J. S. Briggs; Mrs. Josephine Ritter; Mrs. A. R. Medbury;

Mrs. Catherine Sparks; Mrs. Mary C. Holman; Mrs. M. Quackenbush; Mrs.

G. Shindler; Mrs. Maggie Wilson; Mrs. Charlotte Jean; Mrs. S. D.

Francis; Mrs. H. V. Stitzel; Mrs. Rachel Clark; Mrs. L. F. Turner;

Mrs. M. E. Sutherland; Mrs. E. C. Hall; Mrs. E. Watkins; Mrs. W. B.

Fain; Mrs. E. O. Corson; Mrs. N. S. Swafford; Mrs. Dr. Atkinson; Mrs.

G. W. Izer; Mrs. J. Smith; Mrs. T. F. Royal; Mrs. Lucy Patton; Mrs. J.

F. Jones; Mrs. W. P. Jones; Mrs. E. Richards; Mrs. Kimberline; Mrs.

Lillie; Mrs. J. R. Robb; Mrs. M. M. Smith; Mrs. Emma Morgan; Mrs.

Murray; Mrs. Connell; Mrs. J. A. Robb; Mrs. L. L. Bond; Mrs. Lizzie

Fletcher; Mrs. J. F. DeVore; Mrs. O. B. Gibson; Mrs. Dr. Sawtelle; Mrs.

Wm. Roberts; Mrs. Benj. Thomas; Mrs. L. Blackstone; Mrs. A. Allen;

Mrs. F. Pierce; Mrs. J. Stitzel; Mrs. A. Hurgren; Mrs. G. W. Traver;

Mrs. Morris; Miss J. Pumphrey; Miss L. A. Mitchell; Miss Mary DeVore;

Miss Orra Sparks; Miss Sarah Sparks; Miss Olive Padget; Miss Mary

Harrington; Miss Mell Cranston; Miss Marion Francis; Miss Ida Francis;

Miss Helena Holman; Miss Mary Test; Miss Eliza Richards; Miss Edith

Sutherland.

NEW JERSEY.

The work in this State began in the city of Newark, April 16th, 1874.

Newark was the largest town in the State, and a stronghold of the

liquor traffic. But the fire kindled there has spread from town to

town, till the whole State rings with the watchword of the Woman’s

Temperance Union--“_New Jersey for Christ and Temperance_.”

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

The call that brought the ladies together was anonymous; but though

thus unexpectedly called to face the responsibility of the temperance

work in a great, wicked city, they were too loyal to God and the cause

to hesitate.

They prepared themselves for the work by a special and entire

consecration, and waited before God for an open door, and the voice of

command.

The work came to them in a most unexpected manner. At the close of

one of their meetings, a forlorn, miserable-looking sort of a man

came dragging his feet along just within the door, and tumbled into

the chair that was near, being then somewhat under the influence of

liquor. After sitting a few moments, he arose with some difficulty

to his feet, and commenced speaking quite indistinctly, as if rather

talking to himself. The first words that could be understood were, “I

am a poor, miserable, lost, wretched and drunken engineer, and I am

drunk now; do you think that I can be saved?” He then went on to tell

of his dreadful life, how for over twenty years he had been drinking,

ruining himself and family till he had become a worthless vagabond,

and was lost and ruined both soul and body forever. While standing in

a half-bent attitude describing himself and his wretched condition,

in most piteous tones, the heart of every individual who had remained

there was melted in sympathy. He said he did not know why he came into

that room, or how he came there, but that a conviction of his guilt

and ruin came over him the moment that he entered it, and while thus

speaking, he commenced to sob and weep aloud, saying: “Will you pray

for me?” Trembling and excited he got on his knees, and in the agony of

despair he prayed that God would save him. Those who were there to pray

were bowed low in the dust, as never before, conscious of the power and

presence of the Holy Spirit, all remaining on their knees in prayer,

till he yielded his heart to Jesus in penitence and tears, when he,

a saved and sober man, testified to the riches of Divine grace which

could reach and rescue even a great sinner like himself. And on that

morning of the 8th of May, 1874, he left the hall, which he entered in

such darkness and misery, with the light and peace in his soul which

Jesus only can give. To His dear name be all the glory!

This small band, who continued to wait on the Lord, were enabled on

that May morning to erect a signal of praise over this first marked

and wonderful display of the marvellous power of God to save, and His

readiness to hear and to grant an immediate answer to prayer.

Some of the very worst-looking men would most strangely find their

way into that meeting without knowing how or why they came. Almost as

soon as they entered and heard the voice of prayer, they would rise

and ask to be prayed for as poor lost sinners, and continue in prayer

till they found the Saviour. Others were invited or led in, even when

intoxicated, and were eventually saved.

As the work progressed, evening meetings, cottage-meetings, and Tuesday

afternoon services were established in different places at the houses

of inebriates and reformed men, which were well attended, and were

successful and blessed in their results.

The number of workers was small, and the difficulties great, but God

was with them.

I take the following from a report of the work:

On the second Sunday in January, 1875, Mr. John Garrabrant (who had

been an instrument in God’s hand of great assistance to us) invited

Mr. William Souter (who was called the drunken tailor) to come to

our meeting. He came, forlorn and helpless as if about giving up; he

thought and felt himself, that there was no use in trying. He was

induced to get on his knees with us, and was told to sign himself to

Jesus. The Holy Spirit then and there commenced the work in his heart,

and from that moment he began a new life, and broke off entirely from

his evil habits, and became a changed man, giving his heart to the

Saviour. Oh, what a glorious day for him! Our rejoicing for a good

while over him was with trembling; but oh, how we have blessed God for

such a triumph of grace, ever since! A new beacon of hope and light was

erected, and what an encouragement it was for perseverance in earnest

and united prayer for that class of men! New ones found their way

into these meetings, which awakened a greater degree of interest and

earnestness in the work.

Among the first of these special cases was the coming in of a man,

rather small, but with such a black and wicked sort of expression of

countenance as one would instinctively shrink from. He seemed in every

way strangely repulsive, but my eyes were riveted to him as he took a

low seat just back of the door, holding his head down as if to hide

himself in his soiled and shabby garments. He came invited by the Bible

reader, who met him in the morning. He was cold, and as he said thought

he could get warm in there, but thought of nothing more.

Very soon, as I watched him, he became very uneasy, moved about until

he arose to his feet and began talking of his miserable life, and of

the terribly wicked and abandoned condition that he was in. He said

that he had been drinking, and was drunk when he came in there; but

said he, I will never drink again, no, never; while I live I’ll never

touch another drop. Is there any mercy for such a vile wretch as I

am? And then dropping to his knees he began to pray for himself, and

cry to God for mercy. He was truly and deeply convicted of his guilt

as a sinner, and sought earnestly to know the way to a better course

of life, and to give his heart to Jesus. Prayer was offered for him,

and the meeting closed; but as he still remained I was unusually

impressed to speak to him. But as I approached him, he was so forlorn

and disagreeable from being steeped with rum and tobacco, that the

first thing I asked him was, if he would give up his tobacco as well

as strong drink. Laying my hand on his shoulder, I said, “Will you, my

poor brother, give up everything and make a full surrender of yourself

to Jesus, and become pure and clean, and not offensive and repugnant as

you are now?”

“I will give up the drink, but can’t say I will tobacco, for I don’t

think I could.”

I urged the point; he demurred, but finally said he would try.

“No use in trying: you _must_ do it; say you _will_,” I still urged.

“But it would not do for me to give up all at once when I have been

chewing two papers every day, and often a good deal more, besides

smoking: it would make me sick to break right off.”

“Not if Jesus helps you,” I said, “and He _will_. In your own strength

you can never do it; in either case in His strength you can. Now

promise me you will.”

“If I promise you,” he said, “I _shall_ do it, for bad as I am I never

tell a lie.”

“Then promise me, quickly,” I still urged; and never shall I forget

the look he gave me, as for a moment he bowed his head, and then, as he

raised it in trembling earnestness,

“Give me your hand,” said he, seizing it as with a grasp of

desperation. “Now I promise you, God helping me, that never from this

time will I touch tobacco or drink again. Now I have promised, I shall

keep it.”

Earnest prayer was offered, and from that moment our brother, William

N. Clark, became a sober, renewed, and changed man.

What human power could have annihilated in an instant the appetite and

all desire for strong drink or tobacco in any form, where it had been

almost a life-long habit, indulged in without restraint day and night,

obtained at any and every sacrifice? Who can doubt that a will like

his was at that time brought into and held in subjection by the will

and strength of Omnipotence? He was enabled to surrender himself, soul

and body, into the hands of Jesus, and he left the hall, never more to

touch, taste, or handle those two accursed things. His former appetite

and love for both from that moment was so turned into hatred of the

sin and its evil results, that his voice was raised in denunciation

wherever he went. His whole life, since that hour, has been given in

efforts to bring others from the degradation and wretchedness of sin,

and to win them to Jesus.

So many young men were now interested that it was deemed advisable to

organize a reform club, to bind them more strongly together. Such an

organization, in connection with the Woman’s Temperance Union, was

completed on the 4th of March, 1875. This club has now over 600 members.

A Sunday-school was commenced, and is still in progress.

The 4th of July occurring on Sunday, in 1875, there were rumors of

preparations already in progress to celebrate it as on any secular

day, in parades, processions, martial music, and other public

demonstrations. Some of the ladies of the Union resolved, after taking

it to God in prayer with great earnestness and humility, to take a bold

stand, and go as a committee to the City Hall, and petition the mayor

to interpose in behalf of a God-fearing people, and sustain the honor

of His law, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” It was said by

many, “It will do no good at all; matters have gone too far.” But it

did do good. The suggestion was very kindly received, and Mr. Perry’s

decided and prompt action not only entirely suppressed the threatened

fearful desecration, but gave us one of the most peaceful and quiet

Sabbaths that we have had in this city for many years.

On the 8th of September, 1875, at the regular meetings of our Union,

we set apart a little season, just at the hour of twelve, for united

prayer to God. And this noon-day concert of private prayer has been

observed by our Union since that day, when, by the uplifting of the

right-hand, as requested, to signalize the sacred compact, it was thus

ratified by every member present.

Surely God, the Almighty God himself, has allied Himself to this

cause, not only in the treasure of His grace, but in the treasury of

His means also, to carry it on with; for it is a marvel how we have

been supplied and carried through such heavy expenses as came upon us

from time to time, and are able to-day to say joyfully, that we owe no

man anything. Not unto us be any of the glory.

An humble service, if the calling to it is of God, is a high, a holy

calling. In the death of Judge Stanboro, December 5th, 1875, we lost

one of our firmest friends. He was enabled, at the age of seventy-two,

to give up entirely the use of tobacco in every form, although it had

been a habit freely indulged in for sixty years. He kept quiet on the

subject till he could say, after the experience of months, that he was

a happier and better man without it.

One of the reformed brothers who had received his special care and

attention, and who had never seen a Christian die, watched with him

till the hour of his departure, and caught these his last words, as

they fell from his lips: “Oh, those blessed women--God bless them!”

“Oh, precious Jesus!” and immediately expired.

In the winter of 1876, a Juvenile Society and Bands of Hope were

started, and have been well sustained. Several branches also have been

formed auxiliary to the Union.

Mrs. Bundage adds the following incidents:

G---- A----, a young man having all the advantages necessary to

place him in an honorable position, his friends giving him a liberal

education, was a student of law. But rum, that great curse, laid him

low many times, and finally he became a confirmed drunkard.

One day a minister of this city brought him into our temperance

meeting, suffering with delirium tremens. His blood-shot eye, bloated,

purple face, trembling limbs, quivering body, and look of despair,

showed that rum had almost finished its work. The hardest heart was

moved to pity.

One of the sisters of the Union seated herself by his side and talked

with him. At last he said, “My God, cannot you do something for me?”

The sweat stood in great drops on his brow. She told him just there to

ask Jesus to help him, and He would; how He could cure his disease,

and cleanse from all sin. As he became more quiet, he told of his

wicked life; how his mother could not keep him any longer, as she kept

boarders, and he would do anything to get a drink. Whenever she gave

him a new suit of clothes, he would go to New York, exchange them for

an old suit, and go home intoxicated. A young lady gave him a glass at

a party, and urged him to drink. Till then he had never drank.

Christian friends surrounded him, and pointed him to the Lamb of God.

In pity, love, and faith, they bore him to the mercy-seat. They prayed

for him as one prays for his own soul. The Mighty to Save heard, and

cast out the demon rum, and he was saved from that hour.

Kind friends watched with him that night, and he was restored to his

widowed mother, whom he had often found at the midnight hour kneeling

at his bedside, pleading with a covenant-keeping God for her only son.

He has since shown, by his walk and conversation, that the work is

genuine.

Mr. H. had a wife and six children. Like many drunkards, he was often

very abusive, and would take the little pittance his wife earned and

spend it for rum, leaving the children crying for bread and shivering

with cold.

At one time he sent a man to tell his wife he was arrested, and she

must get some money some way so he would not have to go to prison. She

did so, and he spent it for rum with his accomplice. At times he was

very wretched and in despair, and made attempts to hang himself, and

was prevented only by the untiring care and watchfulness of his devoted

wife. One night, coming home, he made up his mind, as they would not

let him hang himself, he would cut his wife’s throat first, then the

children’s, and lastly his own. Before going to bed he slipped a razor

in his coat-sleeve. His wife saw him do it, and stealthily left the

house with her young infant, walking half a mile in the cold wintry

night, through the snow and sleet, with only a thin shawl wrapped round

herself and babe, to the house of her father-in-law, where she stayed

all night. The father-in-law asked her why she did not leave him; if

she would do so he would take care of her and the children, and send

her husband to an asylum. She answered: “I cannot leave him; he is my

husband, and your son, the father of my children.”

He said to her: “I fear you will all be murdered some day by his hand.”

When the husband found all was still, he arose to accomplish the

murderous task he had contemplated. He saw the children sleeping

quietly together, and searched for the mother. Not finding her he

concluded it was not best to kill the children, as she was gone. He

says it makes him shudder now when he thinks what might have happened

if the enemy had put it into his mind to kill the children first. When

his wife came home in the morning he asked her why she did not stay

home. She looked up, with tears streaming down her cheeks, and replied:

“Father, I have no home any more.” This touched his heart.

When one of his children lay a corpse he borrowed money to bury it, and

stopped at a rum-shop to get a drink, and stayed until the money was

all gone; and his child was buried by charity.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union heard of this man, and one of

their number visited his house every week for eighteen months, leaving

tracts with the family. After a while he looked for the tracts and the

visits. Suitable clothes were promised him if he would go to church.

He was deeply convicted of sin, and sought the Saviour, whom he found

able to save, even to the uttermost. He has since stood firm and

unwavering. For six months he was chaplain of the first Reform Club of

Newark, which office he filled very acceptably. He has been called to

several places in this State and in New York, to tell of his wonderful

deliverance from the appetite and curse of rum.

September 8th, 1877, he buried another child; but what a contrast

in the man’s family and home!--the home now pleasant and neatly

furnished, the family happy even in their sorrow, and the body of the

little one lying in a neat coffin with a wreath of flowers marked

“baby;” the man loved and respected--a kind Christian husband and

father.

Surely gospel temperance pays well, even in this life.

We might speak of our gospel temperance work in the jail: how the

prisoners sought and found the Saviour, the Lord giving us a trophy the

first meeting; of our bands of hope and young ladies’ league; cottage

prayer-meetings, saloon visiting, etc. But time will not permit, and

the half we do not know here. A true record of it is kept on high. It

is a blessed work. Unto Him be all the praise and glory forever.

ROSEVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

The society in Roseville is an outgrowth of the Woman’s Crusade work.

As the news came to us of the Temperance Crusade in the West, a woman

of the Roseville Church heard God calling her to join this army. Then

the cry went up to Him, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” The Lord

answered, “What thy hands find to do, do with all thy might.” The next

Sunday, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, temperance tracts were

distributed among my Mission Sunday-school class, with a prayer to

heaven that they might send conviction to some hearts in those seven

families which this class represented. The next week these homes were

visited. Upon entering one house, the mother remarked, “I am so glad

you have come, for my husband wants to see you; he read the tract you

sent on Sunday, and has been very thoughtful since then; says he would

like to be a better man.” “Why,” said she, “he used to own two nice

houses, and we all had plenty; but now we are living in these rented

rooms. He has no work, and I do not know what is to become of us, for

we are using up the last of our hard earnings. He will go with holes in

his shoes, and just _any way_, and spend his last cent for rum; but he

is such a good man when he is sober.”

Just then the husband, Mr. Jones, entered the room. He was a

fine-looking man, but the mark of the beast was on his brow.

The conversation then commenced about his pretty children, and my

desire to know more of them and their parents; he smiled sadly as he

remarked, “They have a good mother, but I am not the father I ought to

be.” Then we talked of the follies of a drunkard’s life, all of which

he knew only too well; but how to break away from the habit that had

chained him down with a death-like grip was the problem he could not

solve.

He listened with joy to the “good news” of redemption through Jesus’

blood. How Jesus came to seek and save the lost; then he told me of a

dear minister brother in heaven: how his last prayer on earth was for

him (his wayward brother); then of a praying mother who had gone home

to glory; then of an aged praying father and a gentle loving sister

whose constant prayers were for him. “Yes,” he said, “I seem to be

wading through prayer, knee-deep, to hell.” God was working upon his

heart. There was a hushed feeling in all that room. We felt God’s

presence there, and when the invitation was given to kneel in prayer,

there seemed to be a responsive echo in each heart; even the little

two-year-old girl, knelt in a frightened sort of way, by her father’s

side, and as the petition went up before the Throne, one could imagine

the angels tuning their harps a little higher. Yes, there was rejoicing

among the white-robed throng over one poor sinner, who had turned from

his evil ways, and was learning the new song, “To Him who loved us, and

washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

We then walked together to our pastor’s study, and there he promised,

with God’s help, never to touch intoxicating drinks, but to serve

the Lord all the remainder of his life. Two years have rolled away

since that memorable 3d day of September, and he is one of our most

consistent Christian men, a good citizen, and an earnest temperance

worker. Many poor, rum-blinded souls have been brought to the feet of

Jesus through his faithful efforts, and in his home you will find peace

and plenty.

Mr. Jones’ conversion was soon noised about. Women told their neighbors

of the wonderful change that had come over him, and many a sad-hearted

wife wished that somebody would talk to her husband; and somebody did

carry the wonderful news, “That Jesus is mighty to save,” until ten men

had become converted.

They and their wives were banded together into what is now called the

“Gospel Total Abstinence Society.” Socials were held at their homes

once a week, until they became so large we were forced to hold the

meetings in the Mission Chapel. Two years have elapsed since this

society was organized and in God’s hands. It is founded on “The Rock

of Ages,” and has been greatly prospered. We now number about three

hundred and fifty members. Fifty-four have been converted to Christ.

Among our prominent workers are three ex-beer-saloon-keepers; also one

who was confined at the prison for drunkenness, while we were holding

our usual prayer-meeting at that place. He was a miserable, bloated

German, who came, after his release, to the meetings, as he lived in

close proximity to our work.

The kind, tender words of the women, and a tract called the

“Bird-Charmer,” set him to thinking. How he entreated us, in our little

Friday evening meeting, to pray for him; and we surrounded him after

the meeting and never gave him up until we saw him standing with us on

the “Rock of Ages.”

One year has elapsed since his conversion, and instead of the once

wretched home, he is living in quite a large house, all neatly

furnished, and his family of eight children are all walking in the

narrow way. Through his effort two men, who had been very hard

drinkers, were converted. They were won by his consistent life at the

work-bench. Now they all sing together all day long, in that Catholic

hat shop, the Moody and Sankey hymns. These three men are consistent

members of our Roseville church.

Our organization is situated in the upper part of Newark. It is

supported entirely by the Roseville Presbyterian Church, and is one of

the revolving wheels in the church machinery for saving souls. It has

filled a great many otherwise empty pews.

The above facts are reported by Mrs. F. T. Wiggins.

LAMBERTVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

The women arose _en masse_ in this town, and with a petition, signed

by a large majority of the citizens of the place, went to the council

chamber and urged that the saloons be at once closed. The demand was so

well backed up by influential names on the petition, and the presence

of prominent citizens, that it was acceded to at once, and rum was

banished.

Many of the young men reformed, and some of them were saved and brought

into the church.

But the dealers who had been driven out established themselves on the

Pennsylvania side of the river, and as there was a connecting bridge,

the point was accessible and convenient, and they went on with their

deadly work. The people of the little village protested, and held mass

indignation meetings; but the intruders, lost to shame, defied public

sentiment.

At the next election for city officers there was a hard contest, but

the temperance people held their own, and kept rum out. They still

watch and pray, and hold the fort.

RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY.

A good work was accomplished in Rahway. Sixty-five women signed the

“iron-clad pledge,” which solemnly bound them not to use alcohol in any

way, not even as a medicine, and not to patronize any hotel or grocery

where it was sold.

The result of this action was that some of the grocers disposed of

their liquor at once, and invited the patronage of temperance people.

Six meetings are held weekly, the ministers attending in a body the

Thursday evening meetings, to which they have been specially invited.

In the outskirts of the city, at Bloodgood Mills, a branch Union was

started, and a reading-room established, with good results. There is

also a temperance work among the colored people.

Many have, through the labors of the faithful workers, thus been

brought to Christ.

The Reform Club numbers seventy-seven, most of whom are “steadfast,

immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord.”

I glean the following facts from the annual report:

JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

Meetings are held in Jersey City, Bergen, Hudson City, and Greenville,

all within the city limits.

The grocers have all been visited, and urged to give up the sale of

liquors. One man, who is a member of church, was found, who sold liquor

by the bottle, in his grocery. When remonstrated with he insisted that

he was doing right, and refused to give up that part of his business.

One grocer gave up the sale of liquors, and the ladies now have a

temperance grocery, which they feel in honor bound to sustain.

MOUNT HOLLY, NEW JERSEY.

Mass-meetings are held every Sabbath afternoon, beside evening meetings

during the week.

Appeals have been made, both personally and in writing, to the judges

of the court, by whom licenses are issued. By this means one man who

applied for license to open a beer saloon was prevented.

There is a growing interest, and an improved public sentiment in this

place.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY.

The work, which began in this town through the influence of one woman,

lacks neither earnestness nor perseverance.

Meetings are held regularly, and from the converts a Reform Club has

been started.

HACKETTSTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

The saloons are all closed, but the ladies continue their meetings, and

are vigilant lest the enemy should obtain entrance.

At the seminary in that town, ninety young ladies and gentlemen were

induced to sign the pledge.

Trenton, Elizabeth, Burlington, Beverly, Washington, Millstone,

Madison, Cedarville, Long Branch and a score of other towns are holding

the fort against fearful odds, and some of them are gaining substantial

victories.

Mrs. M. C. Noble, who has travelled much over the State, and has with

Mrs. M. R. Denman, the President of the State Union, been abundant in

labors, adds the following:

Early in the fall of 1876, there was a vigorous campaign opened

against intemperance in the lower part of the State of New Jersey,

and prosecuted through the counties of Atlantic, Salem, Cumberland

and Monmouth, with great success, arousing Christian people of all

denominations to active labor. God blessed the labor of His servants

most wonderfully, and we feel confident that in answer to fervent

prayers and persistent effort to rescue the perishing and lift up the

fallen this great awakening over our State has come. To God be all the

glory.

To show the spirit of this work let me give one or two instances. It

was wonderful to see the hearts of Christians so stirred up to work

in all ways, and by all means, “so that some might be saved.” One

afternoon there came into Temperance Hall at Trenton, during the great

revival there early in the winter of 1877, a poor out-cast, a woman,

who in consequence of evil ways had been imprisoned, but who now

was drawn to the hall by some unknown influence. She came again and

again, and finally signed the pledge and said she kept it. I can never

forget a scene which occurred at the close of one of our meetings. A

pure-spirited girl, one of Trenton’s fairest daughters, whose heart

was full of the constraining love of Christ, approached this woman and

in low tones began to talk with her in regard to her soul’s salvation.

After a few moments we saw the two, one pure as the blood of Christ

alone can make, and the other covered with sin and shame, move to a

remote corner of the room, and bowing together so their faces nearly

touched, we saw the one earnestly pleading with God for His pardon for

this poor erring sister. Oh, what a sight! Angels must have stopped in

their flight to witness a scene like this. We passed noiselessly away

and left them alone with God and the angels.

Another: There was a man who had been a hard drinker most of his life,

and was bringing his aged mother to her grave in sorrow. All efforts

to save him had failed, and it seemed to all who knew him that he

must fill a drunkard’s grave. A Christian lady anxious to work for

the blessed Master, and to save this man if possible, thought of this

plan. She would write him a letter praying that God would touch his

heart. She did so, addressing him as “brother,” and signing herself his

friend. She invited him to the Temperance Hall that night. The word

“_brother_” arrested his attention. He said, “Is it possible that there

is one who cares enough for me to call me ‘brother,’ and that one, a

lady? I will go to the hall.” He did so, signed the pledge and became

an earnest worker in the cause of temperance.

Others of similar character were brought into our meetings and were

saved; broken down family altars were rebuilt, and many new ones set

up, we trust never to be abandoned.

It was blessed to bow with these saved men at their altars of prayer,

where in many cases children had fled from their drunken fathers in

terror. Now they would sit upon their knee while God’s word was read,

and all bow together in humble prayer.

Through the influence of these gospel temperance meetings many saloons

have been closed; cider mills abandoned; and thousands of precious

souls have been saved, thereby turning aside the streams of death which

bear down to ruin so many of our fellow-beings.

God very signally owned and blessed the work at Elizabeth City, N. J.,

and though not so many signed the pledge as in other places, yet the

work was carried into the churches, and pastors and people united in

the great work of saving souls, and all felt when the meeting closed

that some had been brought to the saving knowledge of Christ.

MARYLAND.

Years ago, when a war-cry rang out in the land, thousands of womanly

hearts thrilled responsive to the call for sympathy, for aid, and

prayer. And when, not long after, another battle-cry pealed out in

thunder-tones, when the voice of the Crusade, as the voice of many

waters, came surging from the West, our hearts answered to the call,

and everywhere throughout “our Maryland,” woman’s lips caught up the

battle-cry, “For God, and home, and native land!”

Fired by the enthusiasm of the noble women of Ohio, touched by the

spirit of sacrifice which nerved them to deeds of heroism unsurpassed

by any on historic page, we, of Maryland, saw, as never before, our

responsibility as Christians, realized that “we were our brothers’

keepers,” and, listening to the Spirit’s call, resolved to do whatever

(God blessing our efforts) we might towards helping “the bound-in

chains” to be free!

Never before had we seemed to hear as in our very midst, all round

about us, the wail from breaking hearts, women weeping over the

degradation of their first-born, their poor misguided Absaloms. We saw

our own darlings in our sheltered homes, shielded, loved, and blest,

and, as never before, felt that it was required of us to seek out

in their wretchedness the drunkard’s children--little children who

scarcely knew what childhood was, looking out upon life with scared and

wondering faces, crouching to earth, or hiding away at footsteps on a

stair--uncertain, stumbling footsteps, heralds of night hours of vigil,

of abuse and desolation.

Women suffering a living death, in degradation, poverty and woe,

struggling, toiling far into the night, to earn their children bread;

these seemed to look to us with pitiful, tear-stained faces, for help,

for sympathy, for prayer.

Thus moved by the example of our sisters of the West, awakened by the

voice of the Holy Spirit, we began to ask, “What is _our_ duty? What

can _we_ do? Shall we stand idly looking on, while souls die that we

might help to save? Shall we dream away our lives, fold our arms in

peace, and give thanks that none of our beloved ones are in that army

marching down to death?” The answer came back, “No! a thousand times

no, no!”

“What, then, should we do?” Wait for protection from our lawgivers,

help that might never come!

Nay, to the mighty Lawgiver, the Judge of all the earth, we resolved to

carry our cause; to the mighty in battle we would fly for deliverance;

taking courage when we remembered that “Greater is He who is for us,

than all they who are against us.”

Day after day we met for solemn consecration, for prayer, seeking

wisdom from on high, that, led by the Holy Spirit, we might put into

active form our yearning pity for the victims of intemperance, their

sorrowing families, and desolated homes.

In the spring of 1874, a band of Christian women under the direction

of Mrs. Francis A. Crook, and Mrs. Dr. J. Carey Thomas, of Baltimore,

associated themselves together under the name of “The Woman’s Christian

Temperance Union.”

During the spring and winter, prayer-meetings were held two and three

days in the week in the different churches of the city; for in this

work Christian women of all denominations met and worked, wept, and

prayed together “one in Christ.”

Cottage meetings were held in the suburbs of the city, in private

houses, and even in houses of shame; dens of infamy where our pure

women went, as the disciples of old, two and two, in little companies,

quietly, lovingly, earnestly bearing the Master’s message of salvation,

binding the “whosoevers and the whatsoevers” into a staff to bear up

and on the poor sinning, sad, despairing souls, that heard them with

new hope. God wonderfully blessed these efforts. Souls were reclaimed,

and more than one lifted up by Christian women’s loving hands. These,

their fallen sisters, were led to Him who saveth to the uttermost

whosoever will come.

Responding to a call issued by the President of the Baltimore Union,

the women of the city and State met in convention, November 9th and

10th, 1875, in this city, to plan for the future extension of the work.

The result of this gathering was the organization of “The Woman’s

Christian Temperance Union,” of Maryland, auxiliary to “The Woman’s

National Christian Temperance Union.”

The following officers were elected, and at each succeeding annual

convention, unanimously re-elected:

President, Mrs. Frances A. Crook, Baltimore; Vice-Presidents, Mrs.

Simon Parkhurst, Baltimore county; Mrs. Dr. James Carey Thomas,

Baltimore, Congressional District; Mrs. L. H. Cochren, Frederick

county; Recording Secretary, Mrs. E. B. Murdock, Baltimore;

Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. Georgia Hulse McLeod, Baltimore;

Treasurer, Mrs. Alice Brooks, Baltimore.

Through the years of 1875-76, the Union has pressed forward, overcoming

many obstacles, but quietly and persistently commanding attention and

respect, creating a still increasing sentiment in favor of temperance.

We can chronicle no grand victory, rejoice over no signal success, but

we are glad to know that from meetings held week after week, month

after month, often through great discouragement, good has resulted.

In public halls, in churches, in private houses, in cities, towns,

and villages, seed has been sown which God has blessed. Some souls

have been saved, some fallen ones reclaimed, a few bars and rum shops

closed. Into every open door of opportunity our sisters have gone with

their sweet message of love. Among the seamen--the old weather-beaten

tars, the young just starting out on first voyages--on the deck of

a man-of-war they have sung, and talked, and prayed. The memory of

a meeting thus held, one Sabbath afternoon, will, by some, be long

remembered. The first to sign the pledge, and place his name upon

the prayer-roll, was an English boy, whose heart some spoken word of

mother-love had touched.

That was his last Sabbath upon earth. A fall from the yard-arm resulted

in almost instant death. Held high in esteem by officers and mates, he

was buried with naval honors. Tributes of respect, fragrant flowers,

were heaped upon his coffin. A record of these tokens of friendship the

boy had won, and a lock of soft brown hair were sent to his mother far

away, and are all that is left now to comfort her.

His life voyage was early ended, and we believe his ship is safe in

port, where the storms never come.

Temperance literature, papers, tracts, books, and leaflets were

frequently distributed. Articles bearing on the interests of the cause

were, from time to time, inserted in local journals. Letters were

written to those who could be reached in no other way.

From our city pulpits each year were read appeals from the Woman’s

Christian Temperance Union, urging their sisters to banish from

Christmas and New Year’s festivals, and social gatherings, wines and

other intoxicating drinks. These appeals were not altogether vain.

Every Christmas tide the song of the Angel of Peace sounds louder and

clearer. Christmas is a joy to some homes, where its gladness had been

long unknown, and fewer hearts are saddened by long, weary watches, at

that joyous time, for reeling forms, tottering steps, blaspheming tones.

Auxiliary Unions have been formed in Baltimore and Howard counties. In

a village in the last-named county, by the earnest, persevering efforts

of one true Christian woman, the sale of liquor has been abandoned by

the shopkeepers, to whom it had always been a profitable investment.

In Glencoe, Baltimore county, a juvenile auxiliary has been formed,

which promises to be a valuable acquisition.

Pledges have been taken to some extent, but in this form of our work we

meet with much opposition.

Several hundred signatures have been obtained to petitions ready for

the approaching session of our State Legislature.

Delegates were appointed to the National and International Conventions.

The latter was attended by the President, Vice-President, and

Corresponding Secretary of the State, and by the Treasurer of the

Baltimore Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

A public meeting, with appropriate farewell services, was held in

honor of Mrs. Margaret Parker, President of the Woman’s International

Temperance Union, and addressed by her on the eve of her departure for

Scotland.

In April and May daily meetings for reformed men were presided over by

members of the Baltimore Union during the Temperance Revival Meetings,

under the direction of Colonel Hoy, and some of the men then rescued

from ruin have been encouraged and assisted in their every effort

towards a maintenance for themselves and families, to whom they had

been almost lost.

This is Maryland’s brief record, far more brief than we could wish,

but “We have done what we could.” Still hoping, praying, working,

watching for the brighter day we know must come, when four thousand

liquor-saloons shall no longer be a blot on the beauty of our city,

when not one shall be found in our State from its eastern to its

western shores, and when we shall rejoice in the fulfilment of the

promise: “The way of the wicked He turneth upside down.”

We have still much to regret, much which grieves and saddens us, but we

have much for which to give thanks.

We are still an undivided band. The Angel of Death has spared our

ranks; the Angel of the Covenant has led, blessed, and strengthened us.

We reconsecrate ourselves to the work, looking forward, not backward;

up, not down.

Only the smallest of the polished stones have we to bring, far outshone

by sister States, yet may we find in the glad by-and-by, that in the

hand of the great Master-Builder, we have found a place, and aided in

the completion of the whole, the perfect mosaic formed of millions of

gems, trophies won for the Master by those who love His name, and watch

for His salvation.

THE TRYST OF MARYLAND.

IN THE TWILIGHT.

At the hour when God’s Beloved

Sought the lonely mountain side,

Breathing out His supplications

In the calm, still eventide,

Let us bow in every home,

Praying, in faith, “Thy kingdom come!”

Thus spake one who loved the Saviour,

Weeping over sin and woe;

Hearts and lips a hundred answered,

“Thou say’st well, it shall be so.”

To Him who hears, we’ll always say

That prayer at dying of the day.

So, each twilight, they are praying,

Matron, maiden, wife, and child;

Father, in great mercy, hear us,

Stay this torrent fierce and wild;

Like a flood ’twill overwhelm,

If Thou dost not take the helm.

Stay the torrent in Thine clasping

Hands, that seek the cup to drain;

Show them Death is in it lurking,

Bring them to the light again--

Bring the wanderers home once more,

The Lord our Shepherd, we implore!

Stay the torrent, whisper now

To each ruler in the land,

Man, where is thy brother?--where?

God will ask him at thy hand!

Rouse each conscience! oh, awake

Souls that sleep, their peace to make!

Send a voice unto the dreamers,

Sleeping upon beds of down,

Bought with tears of wives and mothers--

With the price of many a home;

Loud be it as a trumpet’s tone,

Prepare to meet thy Judge--alone!

Let Thy kingdom come, our Father;

Save the souls so far from Thee;

Cleanse the earth from this pollution;

Set the bound-in spirit free.

Thy kingdom come! Thy kingdom come!

Hear our prayer in heaven Thy home.

Courage! ye wives, who toil and keep

Watch with night, so sad and lone,

Courage! ’tis very dark and drear;

But with morning, light shall come.

Kind hearts grieve with you to-day,

And for you God’s children pray.

Mothers, they who were your pride

Almost break your hearts to-night.

They have wandered far from home,

Far from you, from God, from right.

But comfort you; God sees and hears;

His hand shall wipe away your tears.

Little children, sad and weary,

Knowing less of joy than tears,

Do you think, amid the shadows,

No one heeds your griefs and fears?

God your Father, little ones,

Loves you, and His kingdom comes!

Christians, pray for rescue, pleading

As if hours were moments left--

Pray as you would pray in dying,

That from earth this curse be swept.

Pray in the twilight--yea, alway--

Lips, heart, and soul, oh, Christians, pray!

Reported by Mrs. Georgia Hulse McLeod, Corresponding Secretary.

CONNECTICUT.

NEW MILFORD, CONNECTICUT.

I gather the following facts from reports and letters sent me by Mrs.

M. A. Stone, the efficient President of this local organization, and

of the State organization, and Vice-President of the Woman’s National

Christian Temperance Union:

The ladies of this place, hearing rumors of the strange work in the

West, began to question in their minds whether something ought not to

be done here.

We had men here who were selling without license, keeping their houses

open on the Sabbath, and selling to minors, contrary to the law

regulating liquor traffic. Finally, two of the ladies, after consulting

the leading men of the place, decided to call a meeting.

The meeting was held in the Congregational chapel, March 17th, 1874.

Other meetings followed, and a petition was prepared and circulated for

signatures, requesting the liquor-dealers to give up their business.

Over a thousand signatures were obtained. A committee of ladies

presented the petition to every saloon-keeper, urging them to give

up their vile traffic; but in vain. The petition and signatures were

published, and the ministers of the town invited to preach sermons on

the subject, the following Sabbath, which some of them did.

The subject was agitated so thoroughly that the liquor-dealers, knowing

they were defying the law, called a town-meeting, and asked the town

to give them license. The ladies held a prayer-meeting, in a chapel

close by the place where they were voting, and with prayers and tears

besought God not to permit them to have license. None who were there

can ever forget that meeting. While they were still praying and crying

to God, a kind brother came, and, opening the door gently, said, “We

have a majority of sixty-nine votes against license,” and closing the

door left us to ourselves. A thrill of joy ran through every heart.

It would be quite impossible to describe the scene--some cried for

joy, some thanked God for answered prayer, and all realized, as never

before, that God was on their side. The ladies continued their meeting

with great enthusiasm.

The liquor-dealers stopped selling for a time, and then called another

town-meeting; and the ladies called another special meeting at the

same time and place as before. Their meeting resulted in _no license_

again--the ladies meeting in joy and thanksgiving to God, who had again

given them the victory.

Some time elapsed before the liquor-dealers rallied for another

conflict. This time they applied to the County Commissioners for

license. The ladies sent a committee to the County Commissioners, to

protest against it, on the ground that they were not fit persons to be

intrusted with license, as they had, for more than a year, been selling

contrary to law. Petitions from citizens were also sent in, and the

liquor-dealers were again defeated.

For some time they kept quiet; but as they continued to sell, the men

decided to prosecute them, and in due time they were all convicted but

one, who claimed that he had not violated his promise to the ladies,

and had only sold for medicine (he kept a drug store). The suit against

him was withdrawn, the rest paid their fines. Finding themselves

thwarted on every side, they appealed to the Legislature, and by the

cunning devices of scheming politicians secured the Local Option law,

which was made so strong in their favor that the County Commissioners

had no longer power to use their own discretion in granting license to

those who might apply, when the petitioner had complied with the terms

provided by law. At the next election the town voted license. But the

women continued to work, and in 1876 the town again voted _no license_.

A young people’s meeting was organized: D. W. Ives, President; A.

S. Beecher, Secretary. The society increased in numbers rapidly,

and there are now more than two hundred members. A Colored People’s

Temperance Union was formed, which soon numbered over eighty members;

and, last and best, a Temperance Band of Hope, with sixty-two members,

twenty-four of whom have signed the triple pledge, to use no tobacco,

no intoxicating drinks, and no profane language. A citizens’ club

sprung up spontaneously, as it were, without any action on the part of

the ladies, and many who were considered almost past reformation joined

it. They were assisted by the citizens in procuring a reading-room.

Books, papers and pictures were furnished, and $150, to aid in the work.

In 1877, the town voted license again; but public sentiment is

improving. All the societies are in active operation, and they are

looking forward to the time when God shall give the victory.

EASTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

In the autumn of 1873, a mother was walking with her four children

along one of the pleasant roads of Eastford. Much engaged and

interested in their conversation, she failed to notice an object by

the roadside, of which she would have gladly spared them the sight.

Suddenly the boy clutched her dress with one hand, and pointing with

the other to the prostrate figure, exclaimed, “Oh, mother, is he dead?”

Looking in the direction he pointed, she saw a man, well dressed, about

thirty years of age, lying flat upon the ground in the uneasy sleep of

intoxication. His hat had fallen from his head, and the hot sun beat

mercilessly upon his dusty face. “The man is not dead, but drunk,” she

said, in answer to his question. The boy drew nearer to his mother, and

in a low voice said, “But he will die, won’t he?” “Yes, some time; and

after death is the judgment,” she added.

They wended their way homeward. The beauty of the scene was destroyed

by the sight they had witnessed. A new feeling of responsibility was

awakened by that afternoon walk. What could be done to protect the

young, and rescue the old, from the ravages of intemperance? was the

question constantly recurring to her mind.

During the following winter, the idea of a Woman’s Temperance Union

came to her mind; and feeling sure of the beneficial results of such

an organization, she did not rest until one was formed, in May, 1874.

The first meeting was held in a private parlor. About forty ladies were

present; and after a season of earnest prayer, they banded themselves

together, under the name of the “Woman’s Temperance Union of Eastford.”

The usual officers were chosen, and a committee appointed to

canvass the town, and particularly to visit every woman, and get

her co-operation and her name signed to the pledge. This committee

performed their work faithfully; and at a meeting held in the vestry,

June 17th, made their report, that none were left unvisited; they had

met a cordial welcome at nearly every house, and had obtained _one

hundred and eighty-two_ names. It was voted to continue to circulate

this pledge; also to organize a Band of Hope. This was done July 17th.

A public meeting was held in the Congregational Church, August 3d,

which was crowded. The exercises were conducted entirely by women

and children, and consisted of original addresses by the ladies, and

singing and recitations by the “Band of Hope.” After the exercises

were concluded, a pledge was presented to the gentlemen for their

signatures, and received a majority of the names of those present.

Temperance tracts and almanacs were bought and distributed in the

families; subscriptions were made to various temperance papers, both

for children and adults; every means was taken to interest the public

in temperance.

It was thought best to make an appeal to the men upon the importance

of voting no license. This was done at a public meeting, held October

4th. At this meeting it was manifest that there had been a great change

in public feeling upon the temperance question. The landlord of the

village hotel had been visited, but he was protected by both town and

government license, and for a time he remained unmoved. But temperance

sentiment increased, and he was forced out, and the hotel became a

temperance house.

At the next election, the town again voted license, and the hotel

passed into the possession of a rum-seller. But it is no longer

respectable in Eastford to sell rum, and, after the lapse of three

years, there has been but two or three violations of the pledge.

The same officers still continue in the Union. The prayer-meeting is

held monthly, and we are waiting God’s time, feeling sure that the day

will come when right shall be might in the strength of the Lord.

PLAINVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

I am indebted to Mrs. G. A. Moody for the following facts:

During the summer and fall of 1874, after the ever-memorable Crusade of

our Western sisters, the Master seemed to be calling upon the Christian

women of our State, saying, “Go, work in my vineyard.”

Meetings for prayer sprang up in various sections, almost

simultaneously.

In Plainville, a small town of only fifteen hundred inhabitants, the

minds of some of the sisters were thoroughly exercised in this matter.

Some eighteen or twenty earnest Christian women held a meeting, and

much interest was manifested.

Meetings were continued for several weeks, without any organization or

much new effort. Earnest prayer was constantly offered: “Lord, what

wilt Thou have us to do?”

Immediately after the formation of our State Union, in March of 1875,

we organized at Plainville as a Woman’s Christian Temperance Union,

auxiliary to the State and National Unions.

About this time our first work was given us.

The husband of one of our dear sisters owned a hotel, and rented it.

This house seemed given to us to pray and labor for, that it might be

redeemed from the curse of liquor-selling, and made pure.

It was built for a liquor-saloon or hotel, and for thirty years or more

a constant stream of death and destruction had issued therefrom.

It seemed much to expect, but we knew that with our God all things were

possible, and only being instruments in His hand victory was sure.

We had felt at first that we could never visit saloons, as our dear

sisters in New York and the West had done, but we were led into this

saloon almost unconsciously. We conversed earnestly with the proprietor

and his wife; with the young men we found there; labored with the

owner, and looked to our great Captain for success. It was but a little

while that we were called to wait: gloriously did the way open.

One of our Christian men, in a good business, bought out the hotel,

and having completely renovated it from cellar to attic, opened a

temperance hotel and boarding-house, which is constantly a source of

comfort and pride to our town.

The first Sabbath after the house was thus opened a meeting for praise

and thanksgiving was held in it, by the Women’s Christian Temperance

Union; and when we saw the place which had been occupied by the bar

used as a platform--saw some three or four young men who had drank at

that bar enroll their names, and heard the songs of praise, the prayers

and testimonies for Christ in those rooms where the bacchanalian

song had so long resounded, we could only say, “Behold what God hath

wrought.”

In giving in his testimony at that time, the new proprietor said he

felt something almost like a hand upon his shoulder, touching him, and

a voice telling him to buy the building.

We had none of us said anything to him about it, and did not know

that he had any thought of such a thing, until we heard that he was

bargaining for the property.

Since that we have many times visited saloons, sometimes to converse

with the proprietors, sometimes to help a wife to rescue her dear

husband.

God has also given us souls rescued from the power of rum--washed

and made clean in Jesus’ blood. And just as I write, our hearts are

rejoicing over a new work: the formation of a Temperance Corps (or

Reform Club), by Mr. Warren.

It was one of the most earnest temperance meetings ever held in

our town. Many who were never before pledged came forward--some,

hard-drinking men. Seven such Unions have been formed in Hartford

county.

In Bristol the dear sisters visited the saloons and conversed with the

keepers. One of them was soon taken sick. He spoke of their visit, on

his sick-bed, and said he should never keep a saloon again; but he was

not spared to test his good resolution. They continue to visit saloons,

as they feel they are led.

In Southington the women have held two prayer-meetings in one of their

saloons.

I was privileged to be present at one of these meetings. Soon after it

commenced the men came in from other saloons, until fifty or sixty men

and boys were standing listening with earnest attention to the words

of Scripture, songs, and prayers. Exhortations and personal appeals

followed. The tears trickled from many eyes, and we expect results from

that meeting.

And so the work goes on. It has been said by some that the Crusade was

over, but in “the land of steady habits” we feel it has but just begun.

We, perhaps, move rather slowly, but now that we are started we intend

to hold on in this work till every rum-shop is closed, every drunkard

saved, and all our children are safe in the fold. In Plainville we have

a Children’s Temperance Union, numbering seventy members. We have also

presented a neat little pledge to each teacher in our Sabbath-school;

these are triple pledges, including tobacco and profanity, as well

as intoxicating drinks. For we feel, that while we labor to reform

men, it is very necessary that we keep our children from forming

these dreadful habits. And so we labor on as the dear Lord leads, one

hand lifted to the throne, the other linked in with the thousands of

Christian sisters, forming a band that encircles the world.

And we shall never cease, while life shall last, to labor for Christ

and humanity.

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

A meeting was called, July, 1874, by Mrs. Rebecca A. Morrill. Only four

ladies responded to that call. Other meetings were held in the Centre

Congregational Church, and in the First M. E. Church. Of one of these

meetings a lady says: “As I stepped into the church, eight were bowed

in prayer in a room where a thousand people could have been seated.

Only eight souls responded to the call for prayer for the success of

the temperance cause, and I said, ‘Here am I, Lord: send me.’” But the

meetings continued, and the work went on, and these women baptized by

the Holy Spirit went out into the lanes and alleys of the city, into

the homes of the drunken and the sinful, to tell the old, old story of

Jesus and his love.

After some months spent in labor, a society was organized, and saloon

visiting undertaken. While some of the women remained in the rooms

to pray, others would go out into the saloons to invite men to the

prayer-room. Each Saturday evening especially, this work was pressed

with zeal. They were generally treated with respect, but sometimes

forbidden to sing, and asked not to remain long. In other places

singing and prayer were allowed, and men stood with uncovered heads,

and a profound stillness was observed during the religious exercise.

Most of the dealers admitted that they were doing wrong, and the

drinkers that they were on the downward course, especially if they have

become confirmed drunkards. There is, however, a large class of young

men who see no danger. Sometimes they found fifty or sixty men in the

saloons under thirty years of age. Many followed these women from the

saloon to the prayer-room, and were saved by the power of grace, and

are now in the church of Christ.

At Fair Haven, a beautiful suburban village, a wonderful work of grace

was wrought. Very many too poor to ride in the street cars would walk

two or three miles in the cold December and January evenings to be

present at the place of prayer. Scores of these were converted, and a

Union was formed at Fair Haven.

A glorious work was commenced among the children, and hundreds of

children and youth were enrolled on their pledge-books. Neighborhood

meetings were held, hundreds of families visited, and the interest

of the people kept up by frequent mass-meetings. The membership now

numbers about ninety.

STAFFORD, CONNECTICUT.

An earnest, persistent temperance work has been carried on in this

town; Revs. J. H. James and N. D. Parsons taking the lead in the

outdoor work. Prior to the election of 1875, women circulated the

following appeal to voters: “We, your sisters, wives and mothers,

earnestly pray you, our brothers, husbands and sons, and legal

protectors, to defend our hearts and homes from the desolation of

rum, by voting _no license_.” This petition was widely circulated in

the village, and only three women out of 333 refused to sign it. The

majority for license the year before had been 100, but the effect of

this petition and their influence was to secure a no license majority

of 124.

During the month of August, 1875, while an outdoor public mass-meeting

was being held, a party of roughs and drunkards, who had been attending

a horse-race near a bush tavern, came to the meeting-place and stoned

the speakers, Revs. J. H. James and N. D. Parsons. But they went

forward with the work, for the people of Stafford were aroused that

such an indignity and outrage should be perpetrated in their midst.

One dealer in Stafford was a man of a great deal of influence. He

persisted in following the business, notwithstanding the vote, and he

had such influence over his customers, and used his money so freely,

that it was difficult to get evidence; but the women prayed, and the

men labored, and in due time he was in the clutches of the law, and the

State fine was $300, and the United States fine $700, which ruined him

financially and socially.

BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

A Woman’s Temperance Union was organized February 26th, 1875, only a

few taking an interest; the society beginning with fifteen members;

but the few continued in prayer and work till the fall of 1876, when

they secured the services of Dr. Reynolds. During his stay a Reform

Club of forty members was organized. A room was opened for the Reform

Club, in which the ladies also held their meetings. In connection with

this a reading-room was opened, and a Sabbath-school organized for

the reformed men and their children. Saturday evening prayer-meetings

and Sabbath afternoon meetings have been held regularly and largely

attended. Many of the men have been brought to feel their need of a

higher power to help them resist temptations. The ladies have visited

the saloons to some extent; some are visited every week. One man so

visited gave up the business, and sent in a request for prayer. Men

are brought from the saloons to the meeting; one man who had in this

way been induced to attend the prayer-meetings afterwards got drunk,

and was sent to jail, where he had time to think on the kind words of

instruction given, and to give his heart to Christ. When released from

jail, he went to the rooms, signed the pledge, and gave testimony of

the power of God to save to the uttermost. He says that before his

conversion, he had taken an oath on the Bible to stop drinking, and

yet such was the power of appetite over him, that he would be drunk

before night, but now the appetite has been taken away from him, and

he hates the smell of drink. One man, sixty years old, who had been a

saloon-keeper, and for many years a drunkard, was strangely drawn to

their rooms, and was led to give up drink and tobacco in every form,

and to consecrate himself to Christ. And still the good work goes on,

and the interest is increasing.

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

During the winter of 1875-76, a few of the Christian women of Hartford,

Connecticut, feeling distressed in regard to the extent of the use of

intoxicating liquors in their city, felt it their imperative duty as

followers of Him who came to rescue man from degradation and sin, to do

all in their power to arrest the progress of this terrible evil.

Accordingly, an association was formed in January, 1876.

In the summer two places were opened by the Union for the free gift of

cold water to the passer-by. So that the old excuse of men for drinking

beer, or something stronger, because they could not find a place where

they could get a good drink of ice-water in the city, might be removed.

In one of these rooms a young woman was employed, for a small

compensation, to dispense the water, and temperance papers and tracts

were also given to all who would receive them.

As the summer passed away and the colder days came, coffee was

substituted for ice-water, and the small sum of five cents was charged

for a cup of coffee with a roll; the ladies feeling that even the poor

would have more self-respect if they paid for what they received. This

little room was so well patronized, that the ladies were urged to add

to their bill of fare, so that a cheap dinner might be furnished to

people of small means. Soup and baked beans were added, and many poor

laboring men were thus aided. A pledge-book was kept in the room, and

temperance papers were placed upon the tables. On Monday evening

of each week a temperance praise and prayer-meeting was held in the

coffee-room, which, during the past winter, was very fully attended;

sometimes there being sixty or seventy present.

A small melodeon was hired, and the music drew in many from the street.

A large number signed the pledge after these meetings, and some cases

of wonderful reformation have occurred. Most of those who promise to

give up the use of liquors do it with the determination to lead a life

of prayer and trust in God.

A small library of temperance books and stories is in one corner of the

room, and young men and boys are invited in, evenings, to read; but as

they have no room except the eating-room, they have not been able to

carry out this part of the work as successfully as they hope to do at

some future time.

Early in the work of the Union a committee was appointed to visit

the jail, and the startling fact was ascertained that _more_ than

three-fourths of the prisoners, including male and female, were

brought there through the influence of alcoholic drinks. The ladies

were allowed to converse with the female prisoners, and good books and

papers were left with them to read.

Another coffee-room, with lodgings connected, was opened in February,

1877, under the care of an earnest Christian man, who was to watch over

and guard such reformed men as were permitted to board there. Owing to

the _low_ state of the treasury, only a small building could be hired,

which accommodated but six or eight lodgers.

But want of means obliged the Temperance Union to give up this

“Friendly Inn” in July last, much to their regret, for they felt it to

be a centre of great good. The part of the city where it was located

was filled with drinking-saloons. A temperance prayer-meeting was held

in the room every Friday eve, and the crowds who gathered in the room

and about the door showed their interest in it. These meetings have

been continued since the coffee-room was closed. Many have signed the

pledge, and some hope they have commenced a Christian life through the

influence of the meetings. Wall-pockets, with tracts and papers, have

been placed by the Temperance Union in many of the fire-engine houses

in the city, and also in the State hospital.

Slowly, but it is hoped surely, the little work goes on; clouds often

gather over the pathway of those who are leading as well as those who

are being led, but the humble work done in the name of the Master is

laid with earnest prayer at His feet.

The ladies of the following towns have engaged in the work with more or

less success, often battling against fearful discouragements:

East Hampton, Essex, Bethany, Deep River, Willimantic, Jewett City,

West Haven, Danbury, and South Norwalk.

DELAWARE.

A good work has been done in Delaware during the last three years.

Immense mass-meetings have been held in Wilmington from time to

time, and petitions to the Legislature been extensively circulated.

On Tuesday, February 16th, 1875, the Woman’s Temperance Union of

Wilmington, joined by temperance women from other parts of the State,

paid a visit to the State Legislature. It was my privilege to accompany

the delegation and aid in the services. A special train was chartered,

and two or three hundred went down from Wilmington, and the number was

augmented at every station on the route. The excitement in Dover was

intense; as notice of this visit had been given, people from towns and

neighborhoods within a circle of twenty miles crowded into Dover. The

citizens of the town met and welcomed the Woman’s Temperance Union, and

provided entertainment.

At three o’clock, by previous arrangement, they proceeded in a body

to the State House. The building was already filled to its utmost

capacity, but the sergeant-at-arms cleared the way for the visitors.

The members of both houses were in waiting, and received their lady

visitors in a cordial and gentlemanly manner. As soon as the speaker

called the house to order, Mrs. Stevens stepped in front and knelt in

prayer. It was a solemn moment. Every head was bowed, and every heart

throbbed under the searching power of the Divine Spirit, and many

eyes were wet with tears, while she prayed to Almighty God for the

deliverance of her State from the thraldom of the liquor traffic. The

prayer was followed by the singing of two verses of

“Nearer, my God, to Thee.”

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Israel, of Wilmington, and the writer of

these pages, were privileged to address the Legislature.

A mass-meeting was held in the evening, which was attended by nearly

every member of both houses. One senator said, grasping my hand, “The

effect of this will not be lost. There were some of us who could join

your Crusade song in the beginning, but there are others who have been

won to-day.”

“I MADE HIM WHAT HE WAS.”

About this time a saloon-keeper in Dover, Delaware, who patronized

his own bar very liberally, stepped into a back room where men were

at work about a pump in a well. The covering had been removed, and

he approached to look down, but being very drunk, pitched in, head

foremost. He had become so much of a bloat by the use of strong drink,

that it was impossible to extricate him in time to save his life.

There was great excitement in the town. Men and women who had never

been inside of his saloon before, were the first to rush to the

rescue, and to offer sympathy to the bereaved family. As he was being

dragged from the well, and stretched out dead upon the saloon floor, a

wholesale liquor-dealer from Philadelphia stepped in. After the first

shock at thus finding one of his good customers dead, he turned to a

prominent lady, a Crusader, and said, pointing to the wrecked victim,

“I made that man what he was. I lent him his first dollar, and set

him up with his first stock of liquors, and he’s now worth $10,000 or

$15,000.”

Looking him full in the face, she responded:

“You made that man what he was--a drunkard, a bloat, a stench in the

nostrils of society, and sent him headlong into eternity, and to a

drunkard’s hell. What is $15,000 weighed against a lost soul, a wasted

life, a wife a widow, and children orphans?”

He turned deadly pale, and without a word left the house.

What is all the business and all the revenue to the millions whose

homes are despoiled, whose children are beggared, and whose loved ones

are sent headlong to a drunkard’s grave and a drunkard’s hell? Let us

put ourselves in the place of that mother, whose son is pursued day and

night by this demon, till the hairs of his head become serpents, and

live coals burn into his flesh to the very bone, and, fighting devils,

he leaps out into eternity, and then ask, Are my hands clean? Do I love

my neighbor as myself? Am I doing _all_ I can to stay the tide that is

bearing so many down, and may yet bear me down?

During the spring and summer of 1877, immense daily mass-meetings

were held in Wilmington, in the Opera House, and in a large tent. The

meetings were crowded, and 15,000 signed the pledge. Taken as a whole,

there has been a great advance in Delaware within the last few years.

THE OUTLOOK AFTER THE CRUSADE.