GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



was an intimate friend and classmate with 

 Ernest at Oberlin College — a most devoted 

 Chi-istian man and minister — was the man 

 W'ho first suggested the idea of combining 

 all the people who love temperance, no 

 matter what their affiliation, and fighting 

 the saloon. It was my privilege to sub- 

 scribe $500 in order to start tliis new 

 movement. Mr. Metcalf, a most devoted 

 Christian man, gave another $500; and the 

 idea that Dr. Russell and your old friend 

 A. I. Root were in the power of the liquor 

 interests, or that the liquor power was 

 hack of them, is about the most absurd and 

 silly falsehood I ever heard. Let me ex- 

 plain a little further. 



Almost as soon as the Anti-saloon 

 League got to doing effective work here in 

 Ohio, the Proliibition papers, instead of 

 bidding it Godspeed, commenced P.nding 

 fault and picking flaws. I remonstrated 

 fii-st with the l^ew Voice, and begged them 

 to show at least Christian courtesy. The 

 New Voice went down, for some reason 

 unknown to me. The National Prohibi- 

 tionist took its place (or at least so far as 

 I know, it did), and began fighting the 

 Anti-saloon League. I remonstrated again, 

 and had a lengthy correspondence with 

 Editor Ferguson. The American Issue at 

 first made some reply to their thrusts; but 

 I begged both periodicals for God's sake 

 to refrain from this "cross-firing" when 

 we were both working honestly before 

 God, for the banishment of the saloon and 

 for State-wide prohibition. I finally told 

 Mr. Fergaason that his periodical would 

 go down as did the New Voice if he per- 

 sisted in giving place to such unchristian- 

 like editorials or articles. Now, to show 

 you that I was not hoping they would fail 

 financially, or any thing of that sort, let 

 me tell you that l" gave them $50.00 at one 

 time when they were in financial straits, 

 and voted repeatedly the Prohibition 

 ticket. I was also a life subscriber to the 

 National Prohibitionist; but it went down 

 as I predicted, because, as I still think, of 

 its unchristianlike attitude toward good 

 temperance men who did not see thing-s as 

 they did. As an illustration, the pastor of 

 our church — a man who occupied a high 

 place in the affairs of the nation, absolute- 

 ly refused to read it any further. When 

 the America7i Advance and the Vindicator 

 took the place of the National Prohibition- 

 ist I was pained beyond measure to see 

 that they also — at least occasionalh^ — gave 

 place to articles that Avould almost seem 

 as if they hated the Anti-saloon League 

 as much as they hated the saloon-keepei-s.* 



* There are several points on which I heartily 



Because the Anti-saloon League made a 

 map of the State of Oliio, showing the 

 number of dry counties, the American Ad- 

 vance said it was not true, and that the 

 counties they claimed to be dry were not 

 dry, accusing the Anti-saloon LeagTie of 

 untruth, and finally concluding something 

 to the effect that the Anti-saloon League 

 had never done any thing for temperance.* 

 Of course, there was some truth in some 

 of their statements, as there always is; but 

 it was not the whole truth. When we had 

 our recent vote in Florida for State-wide 

 prohibition the Anti-saloon League dropped 

 local option entirely and worked against 

 it; but a lot of the liquor men of Jackson- 

 ville all at once discovered that they were 

 in hearty accord with local option. You can 

 readily see how this came about. The Anti- 

 saloon League came out into the open 

 promi^tly, and declared they had nothing 

 to do with them, and would have nothing 

 to do with them. The same thing hap- 

 pened uj) in Maine. A great lot of brewers 

 and liquor-dealers all at once discovered 

 (as in Florida) that local option was ex- 

 actly the thing; and I regret to say — in 

 fact, I say it with pain — President Taft, 

 together with the Governor of Maine, all 

 at once espoused local option. Let me 

 add that the Anti-saloon Leagiie of Ohio 



agree with the Prohibition brethren. Where one 

 county is made dry and the adjoining one is wet, 

 the people do run over into that neighboring coun- 

 ty. Our own county (Medina) has been dry for 

 over 25 years; but some seven miles away, on the 

 county line, is a little four comers where there is a 

 saloon just over in Lorain Co. On a recent occa- 

 sion eight di-uuks were arrested in one Sunday night 

 round about that same saloon ; and just a few nights 

 afterward a railroad man was killed right in that 

 vicinity, with a bottle of whiskj' in liis pocket. 

 I consulted our attorney to know if Medina people 

 could do any thing to make that saloon-keeper at 

 least obey the law ; but the lawj-er said the respons- 

 ibility rested almost if not entirely on the authori- 

 ties of Lorain Co. Notwithstanding this, I do know 

 that the Anti-saloon League has accomplished won- 

 derful results in making the greater part of the area 

 of Ohio dry. We are in fact almost ready to drop 

 local option and unite on State-wide prohibition. 

 Just one thing more: Many of the di-y counties 

 in Ohio have been humbugged by getting wet sym- 

 pathizers into office. You will excuse me if I say 

 that it seems as if "the very Devil himself" was 

 shrewdly engineering for the brewers and distillers. 

 But may the Lord be praised for the promise in his 

 holy word, where John tells us he saw an angel come 

 down from heaven, and he bound the old serpent, 

 the Devil, and Satan, for a thousand years. 



* While speaking about temperance periodicals, 

 I -n-ish to hold iip to view the Union Signal, the 

 official organ of the W. C. T. U. May God be 

 praised for such a pure Christianlike periodical. 

 Not only the love but the broad charity of the Lord 

 Jesus Christ seems to shine forth from every page ; 

 and it has never, so far as I know, permitted a 

 word of criticism in its pages of the Anti-saloon 

 League; but it has again and again rejoiced in the 

 victories they have helped to win. It also truth- 

 fully chronicles the progress and success of State- 

 wide iJrohibition throughout our land; and when the 

 mothers as well as the fathers are permitted to vote 

 in this land of ours, I am sure a great victory will 

 be close at hand. 



