The Darkest Hour: Temperance Leader Declares Cause 'Dead' Amidst Political Corruption

PROHIBITION WORK.

Annual Meeting of the State Temperance Alliance. ADDRESS BY REV. CLARK DAVIS.

Part of General Agent's Report—The Alliance Prior to Election of Officers.

The State Temperance Alliance held its annual meeting yesterday, in the First Baptist church, on Fourth street, at 1 o'clock p. m. The meeting was called to order by President D. T. Denny. There was a good attendance, $8,000 worth of stock being represented.

The first order of business was the election of officers, which resulted as follows: President, D. T. Denny, Seattle; secretary, H. N. Belt, Spokane Falls; treasurer, Everett Smith, Seattle; board of directors, Jonas Bushell, King county; Mrs. M. A. Shaffer, Pierce county; Senator J. F. Eshelman, Yakima county; H. D. Copley, Whitman county; Mrs. Lucy A. Sweitzer, Spokane county; F. M. Chestnut, Whatcom county; John Robin, Cowlitz county; G. W. Stewart, Lewis county; Rev. John Chaplin, Thurston county.

D. T. Denny, R. S. Greene, Thomas Mercer, Rev. F. E. Sutton, Mrs. Winnie Thomas, D. B. Ward, Mrs. Mary P. T. Snyder, Howard C. Walters, J. D. Walker and Rev. H. W. Stratton were chosen life directors.

R. S. Greene, D. T. Denny, Everett Smith and H. N. Belt were elected an executive committee.

The following is General Agent E. B. Fulton's report:

The year has been spent on many parts under the direction of the executive committee, as has seemed best for the advancement of our cause... At the beginning of the year arrangement was made with the executive committee for holding county conventions to plan for active prohibition work... Thirty conventions were held and several hundred copies of the Voter and nearly 10,000 copies of the Voice have thus been placed in the homes of the people...

In June we secured the services of Professor Samuel Dickie and accompanied him across the state... On the 26th of June at the town of Almira, in Lincoln county, we were assaulted by a saloon-keeper named Clark, and for several days remained in an unconscious condition... By the advice of our executive committee, on the 18th of August, with our attorney, Mr. A. Salver, we returned to Almira and had Mr. Clark arrested, tried, convicted and fined...

We have during the year appointed county agents in several counties and secured the services of a number of speakers, by whom some 150 speeches have been given... We have taken 1,027 new members into the association during the year, thus more than doubling our membership.

At present, to us, it seems that the most necessary work is the pushing of the financial basis, accompanied by speeches, and the circulation of literature. Business men all over the state have only to understand our plan and they fall in with it at once as being a simple, straightforward way of doing business... We began without a dollar in the treasury two years ago, and now we have on hand as assets $27,875...

The ministers of the different denominations have given freely and heartily the use of their pulpits and their influence to aid on the good work.

Rev. Clark Davis delivered an address on temperance work. The substance of his remarks was:

"If I was asked to give an opinion upon the temperance work in this community and state and nation, I would say it was dead. The facts are that today is the darkest day we have seen for the temperance cause, and it's getting darker every day... The word prohibition has such a stigma attached to it that Brother Sutton didn't dare to pray for the Prohibition Party at his prayer meeting tonight.

Moreover, intemperance is increasing; saloons are increasing and the number of drinking men is multiplying. It has gotten so that everybody who runs for office must either drink or treat those who do drink... I understand from a friend who saw it, that at the headquarters of the two men most fat for the senate, Mr. McGraw and Mr. Kirkendall, actually ruined the business of the saloons by dispensing liquor without price.

Yes, the temperance cause is dead today in this nation... It is time for us to awaken to a realization of the fact and ask if we are doing our duty. I don't know how to account for this lack of interest. I can't understand why every Christian isn't a Prohibitionist. It is the duty of every minister of the gospel to attack evil.

There are three classes—the ministers, the women and the church members—who ought to be depended upon from the Atlantic to the Pacific... If we only had the ministers we could get all the church members, but how are we going to get the ministers? (Voice in audience: 'Give us something easier.')

I believe in the power of the pulpit. I believe it's the duty of every minister to attack every evil that threatens Christianity... If, instead of excusing the sins of Abraham or the mistaken of Moses, or discussing whether the whale really swallowed Jonah, once every Sunday there was a fearless attack against the great evils, the work would not take long. Preach temperance? Of course I'd preach it, if I preached every man, woman and child out of the church and talked to empty pews.

The Prohibitionists are called cranks, and no wonder. It's enough to make anybody a crank to see business, politics and religion honeycombed with the influences that emanate from the saloon. When I came six years ago to this state... there were men who dared to stand upon the legislative floor and advocate temperance like a temperance lecturer on the platform. But a great revolution has been brought about in this state... It is an actual fact that of the two parties, the Republican and the Democratic, one is straddling a beer keg and the other a whisky barrel. If this be politics, make the most of it.

Practically the temperance cause is 'dead' today, but the principle lives and will yet triumph. But this is the darkest hour prohibition has ever seen. I believe in temperance and will always uphold it. I believe it will ultimately triumph, but how I don't know."

MR. DE STEIGUER'S SPEECH Nominating Squire in the House at Olympia January 20.

When Representative De Steiguer of King rose to present the name of Hon. Watson Squire, an outburst of applause prevented him from beginning for some time. He said:

"Mr. Speaker: King county has no other choice than the will of Washington... we shall be satisfied with the voice of the people... what kind of man the people of this state prefer for United States senator? I believe that they want a man who represents the development of this state; who has been with it and stood by it through its trials, its struggles, its adversities, its depressions, as well as through its success and prosperity...

He has served the nation in the hour of its need... As governor of this state he invited the forces of labor and capital; he opened the gate for that flood of immigration which is making us great: why, his administration was a whole World's fair to our state. Upon the floor of the Senate of the United States... he has always been true to the conscience and convictions of our people. By every consideration of justice... he should be, as I think he is, the choice of our legislature. Sir, on behalf not only of the county of King, but of the people of Washington, I present to this House a name which has long been and which long shall be fast linked to the history of our state."