January 10, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



51 



tific Department of the Woman 's Christian 

 Temperance Union would revise them or 

 supervise their proposed revision.' That 

 is to say many publishers were naturally 

 eager to have their books ' indorsed ' by Mrs. 

 Hunt, doubtless hoping thereby to increase 

 their sale. On August 10, 1888, Mrs. Hunt 

 ' with secretaries and helpers returned to 

 Hyde Park, Massachusetts and opened 

 again ' Hope Cottage ' which became the 

 local base of operations for text-book revi- 

 sion. ' ' ' That these revised books might be 

 distinguished at a glance from the unre- 

 vised and unworthy books a committee was 

 chosen * * * to indicate upon each its 

 character. * * * The position of the chair- 

 man (Mrs. Hunt) of this committee chosen 

 to extend the indorsement to school text- 

 books of this kind in behalf of the signers 

 of the Great Petition to Publishers and of 

 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 

 has proved a very trying one and a most 

 severe test of loyalty to principle." 



I may remark in passing that one is fre- 

 quently reminded in Mrs. Hunt's 'his- 

 tories ' that the United States Commis- 

 sioner of Education is, or was, a member 

 of the Advisory Board which has conducted 

 this remarkable propaganda. As to the 

 propriety of the Commissioner's connection 

 with this movement I make no comment. 



It would be tedious, though not unin- 

 structive, to give many more quotations 

 from the extraordinary documents which 

 recount the history of the ' scientific ' tem- 

 perance movement. Those who desire to in- 

 form themselves more fully shoiild not fail 

 to consult the original authorities referred 

 to above. As an illustration of the almost 

 hysterical scenes accompanying the work of 

 securing favorable legislation by this par- 

 ticular propaganda, I cannot forbear quot- 

 ing the ' Report of an Eyewitness ' describ- 

 ing the passage of the Pennsylvania law: 

 ' ' As the work of widening the temperance 

 sentiment goes on we come now and then, 



would that it were more frequently, to the 

 place where the only thing to do seems to 

 be to raise an Ebenezer, and the only thing 

 to say is ' Hitherto hath the Lord helped 

 us.' * * * Upon a great tide of womanly 

 support that buoyed her up on wave after 

 wave of prayer and of faith in her powers, 

 has the leader of this work (Mrs. Hunt) 

 been borne from city to city like a brave 

 ship, laden with the treasure of knowledge 

 and blessing to be spread out before the 

 listening people. * * *" Then follows a 

 description of the State Capitol, and of the 

 gathering legislators, of their good-natured 

 reception of Mrs. Hunt, of her address and 

 its effect, after which the writer passes on 

 to the opening of a following session : ' ' Al- 

 most before the amen of the opening prayer 

 had been uttered, a dozen members were on 

 their feet offering the petitions sent in from 

 their various districts in behalf of the bill 

 for ' scientific temperance education ' ; the 

 dozens swelled to scores, and the scores 

 multiplied all in a moment, until so many 

 boy-messengers were flying down the aisles 

 with the papers, and so many arms Avere 

 waving in the air, that from every seat there 

 seemed suddenly to have sprung a great, 

 fluttering, white blossom of petition. * * * 

 I make no mistake when I call Mrs. Hunt 

 the mother of the bill. * * * Behind this 

 mother of the bill stood some of those who 

 have borne it so closely upon their hearts 

 that they may properly be called its god- 

 mothers, its sisters, its cousins and its 

 aunts. ' ' The bill was passed and signed by 

 the Governor and the writer remarks, ' It 

 was a God-given victory and to Him be all 

 the praise. ' 



One of the hmnors of the passage of a 

 national law requiring ' scientific ' temper- 

 ance instruction at West Point, at Annap- 

 olis, in the District of Columbia and for 

 all schools under Federal control, was a de- 

 bate in the Senate in which ' ' A certain sen- 

 ator declared that ' rum-sellers or patrons 



