The Great Temperance Schism
Over 1,000 Good Templars defect from their order to join the Sons of Temperance amid internal discord.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The defection in the ranks of the Good Templars came to a head yesterday in a meeting of District Lodge, No. 4, embracing lodges in King and Kitsap counties. The meeting was held at Freeda’s hall, corner of Ninth and Olive streets. Those who have been leading the movement to transfer their work to the Sons of Temperance feel very proud of the attendance, representing eighteen lodges and five temples with a membership of 1,051 persons. They decided it was impossible to harmonize with the Grand Lodge executive committee. While they claim they cannot organize the new order inside the old one, they have begun instituting branches of the Sons of Temperance throughout the city and nearby counties to continue their temperance work under their own control.
“It was impossible for them to harmonize with the Grand Lodge executive committee.”
This reflects the intensely organizational nature of late 19th-century Seattle, where temperance societies operated like political parties. The schism mirrors the way modern non-profits and community organizations frequently fracture over bureaucratic control and organizational identity.
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