Chapter III: Crusade in Larger Towns (6)

Mass-meetings were held every week, which were well attended, and full of interest; and such an enthusiasm was aroused in the cause of temperance as never was known in the history of Urbana. As evidence of interest awakened, an ordinance, prohibiting ale, beer, and porter-houses, was passed by the city council, and a public sentiment was aroused which sustained the enforcement of the ordinance in several notable instances.

When the warm weather came, it was thought best to have the bands go out in the morning at five o’clock, and in the evening at seven, remaining out for one hour each time, and visiting as many saloons as possible in that time.

The ladies of the League addressed political meetings all over the country, which doubtless contributed largely to the defeat of the license clause in the county.

There were twenty-seven liquor-dealers in Urbana when the Crusade began. At the time for renewing their license only _five_ presented themselves. Some who promised to quit selling are faithful to their promises.

DAYTON, OHIO.

Dayton is a beautiful, well-built town, in central Ohio. Its streets and avenues are broad and well-paved. It has handsome residences, fine churches, substantial public buildings, and massive business houses. But many of its palaces are red with the blood of murdered innocence, and many of its massive edifices have been built with the price of souls. For liquor-making and liquor-selling has been no inconsiderable part of the business of the place. At the beginning of the Crusade there were not only the usual array of saloons, and gambling-dens, and brothels, where liquors were sold and drank, but there were massive breweries, and great wholesale houses, that by their influence and money sustained the traffic; and the business was largely in the hands of a rough class of foreigners, mainly Germans. This class, in the towns already reached by the Crusade, had been insulting and riotous.

Against all this array of evil--this wickedness in high places--a few women were praying and crying to God. Encouraged by the success of the Crusade work at Hillsboro’ and Washington Court-House, and other towns, they set themselves to walk carefully before the Lord, and to know His will.

Dayton had a population of about forty thousand. At the beginning of the Crusade there were in this town over five hundred saloons, or one to every sixty of its inhabitants; or, divided into families of five each, _one saloon to every twelve families_.

Large and enthusiastic mass-meetings were held; but it required more than ordinary courage to go out into the saloons, and face liquor-dealers in their own dens, and meet the class that congregated in these places, many of them speaking a strange tongue. But there were not wanting women in Dayton, pure, consecrated, Christian women, who were ready to take their lives in their hands, and go forth in God’s name, and speak and pray in the saloons, and on the streets.

A permanent organization was effected February 20th, and a private canvass of the saloons made by small companies of ladies, but no results followed. Mass-meetings were held daily; two hundred women were enlisted for active aggressive work, and on the morning of the 6th of March, two companies, led by Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Weakley, filed slowly and solemnly out of the church, to visit the saloons. The rain was falling steadily, but the women were sheltered under water-proofs and umbrellas. The saloon doors were closed against them.

T. A. H. Brown, correspondent of the _Cincinnati Gazette_, in “Fifty Years’ History of the Temperance Cause,” gives the following:

“Saloon after saloon was visited, services generally being held before the doors; and at last one man, who had a light stock of liquors, offered to surrender if they would pay him first cost. The vile compounds were then emptied into the gutter, amid much rejoicing. In the afternoon the two bands exchanged territory, so that the same saloons received two visits.

“The excitement now began to increase. The bands increased in numbers, and more favorable weather brought out great crowds of people to witness the strange spectacle of women actually praying on the streets. The rabble began to grow turbulent and threatening; saloon-keepers saw the matter was putting on a serious aspect, and fought every inch of ground by the most unscrupulous means. It soon came to be known that the visit of the ladies to a saloon meant free beer and whiskey at that place, and there ‘the boys’ rallied in force like vultures over a dead carcass. The result was, more drunken men on the streets than had been seen since the 4th of July; and as if this round about warfare was not sufficient, direct insults were heaped upon the ladies. The voice of prayer and song were drowned by those of ribaldry and blasphemy. Bits of bologna and crackers were thrown at the kneeling women, who bore these indignities meekly, with no word of reproof. One of the worst elements in the noisy mobs was women, mostly of foreign nationalities, who joined their screaming to the shouting and swearing of their male relatives.

“The result of this unseemly mocking and jeering was to inflame the public mind, and bring thousands out to the evening mass-meetings, where the reports of the day’s proceedings were read, and commented upon.

“Under such dire persecutions, the band steadily increased in size, and grew more determined.”

Another correspondent says:

“The women form for action near the curbstone, and are speedily encompassed by the crowd, who watch with varying manifestations and emotions. Lines of men file into the bars to quench real or affected thirst, and the clink of foaming glasses chimes in with the soft, pathetic notes of the worshipping women. But the plaintive voice of prayer, when the women on bended knees supplicate the mercy of God, produces an instant and indescribable hush even in the bar-rooms; and as the eloquent pleadings ascend, the influence quickly strikes the nearest rank of spectators, and penetrates to the outermost rim of the ragged semicircle formed about them. There are moments, when the women weep and pray, that their influence is thrillingly impressive, and men even, who do not approve of the saloon devotions, are unconsciously but irresistibly affected. Excepting among the depraved, there is not the remotest suggestion of levity in the scene. It is touchingly solemn.”

Becker, one of the saloon-keepers, admitted the ladies; but insisted that none should pray in his saloon unless they were without sin.

On the 6th of April, the municipal election was held, and by the help of the dealers, and bummers, Butz, the whiskey candidate, was elected over Houk, the temperance candidate; and a majority of councilmen elected were in favor of whiskey. This was taken by the saloon-keepers as a verdict for free whiskey.

Undeterred by the results of the election, the women met at Grace M. E. Church, determined to go on with their work. But they were met with the following proclamation from the Board of Police Commissioners:

_Whereas_, It has become apparent to this board, that the visits of the recently organized bands of ladies to the various saloons in the city, and the occupation by them of the sidewalks and streets for religious exercises, have, on several occasions, attracted large crowds of riotous and disorderly persons, who assembled in the vicinity in such numbers as seriously to threaten the peace and good order of the city, and materially to obstruct the free and proper use of both the sidewalks and the streets; and,

_Whereas_, It is, by the laws of this State, unlawful for any person or persons, by agent or otherwise,

1. To sell, in any quantity, intoxicating liquors (except wine manufactured of the pure juice of the grape, cultivated in this State, beer, ale, or cider), to be drank in or upon the premises where sold, or in or upon any adjoining premises connected therewith;

2. To sell any intoxicating liquors whatever, without exception, to minors, unless upon the written order of their parents, guardians, or family physician;

3. To sell intoxicating liquors, of any kind whatever, to persons intoxicated, or in the habit of getting intoxicated; and,

_Whereas_, All places where liquors are sold in violation of these laws are declared public nuisances, and upon conviction of the keeper thereof, are required to be shut up and abated as such; therefore,

Be it known, that orders have been issued to the police force of this city to prevent the use and occupation of the streets and sidewalks as aforesaid, and to give special and careful attention to the enforcement of the said laws, and make prompt arrest of any and all persons violating the same.

By order of the Police Board.

WM. H. SIGMAN,
_Mayor and ex-officio President Police Board_.

* * * * *

After consultation it was decided best not to go into saloons in large bands, and thereafter saloon visiting was carried on by bands of three or four. Wherever they were admitted, they conversed with the proprietors and their guests. The saloon-keepers were generally averse to these visits, and insisted that the election had settled the question, and the people had indorsed their business at the polls. But the ladies were not deterred, but pushed their work in every possible direction. Women’s meetings were held daily for prayer and consultation, followed by mass-meetings at night. Enthusiastic meetings for children were held, and the better class of people were thoroughly aroused. The men began to bestir themselves, and a guarantee fund was raised for the enforcement of the law.

And so the women go on with their work against fearful odds, assured that victory in due time will crown their efforts.

PIQUA, OHIO.

The work at Piqua commenced early in the Crusade, and was carried on with great enthusiasm and determination. As the women knelt in front of saloons on the sidewalk, the mighty power of the Spirit was displayed.

Mrs. Stephenson was chosen as the leader. The ladies held a meeting, and by ten o’clock of the same day they were out on the streets. They seemed to be urged on by an invisible power to the work for which they had consecrated themselves.

The first day three of the druggists signed the pledge. There was much to contend with in Piqua; a large German population; heavy wholesale liquor-houses, and wealthy men who rented their property to liquor-dealers. The opposition was violent, the crowds in the saloons disorderly; men mocked, while women prayed. But insult and opposition tended to increase their zeal, and greatly augmented their numbers.

Their way of conducting these visitations was to go to the door of a saloon, and ask if they could come in. If they were answered in the affirmative, they went in and held a prayer-meeting. If they were refused admittance, they held their meeting on the sidewalk in front of the saloon. The ladies found that, although the saloons were closed against them, their prayers could penetrate the doors. Many saloon-keepers gave up the business, others became violent and insulting, and offered indignities to the ladies. In one saloon a mock prayer-meeting was held and the Lord’s Supper celebrated with beer and crackers by saloon-keepers and their drunken customers.

It may be proper in this connection to state, that the men who were engaged in this mock service have nearly all died violent and awful deaths.

The ladies were arrested, and held to trial for praying on the streets. But their trial was postponed, and the better class of citizens, who were now thoroughly aroused, petitioned the council for a prohibitory ordinance, and before the day of trial came on a prohibitory ordinance was passed, which effectually broke down the opposition.

The ladies, very much encouraged, went on with the battle, and still continued the contest in a more permanent and quiet form of organization.

CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO.

In justice to a few faithful workers, Circleville deserves mention.

I am indebted to Lizzie W. Scovile, Secretary, for the following facts:

We have nothing thrilling to relate, and cannot point to such marked results as some are able to do. The Crusade was entered upon very reluctantly, in this place. Daily meetings for prayer had been held in the church nearly two weeks previously, but on the 18th day of March, 1874, the Spirit descended in power, and the women went forth to visit the saloons. All through the summer the work was prosecuted in various forms, visiting saloons in bands, picket work, daily prayer-meetings at our League Room, open air meetings, etc. Several saloons were closed, but, with only two or three exceptions, were again reopened.

We can point with certainty to but one conversion, and that was of one of our ladies, who, though not a Christian, went with the band to help sing, and was converted in one of the saloons during one of our first visits.

When the street work was first entered upon, our numbers were so large it was thought best to form two bands--one under the leadership of Mrs. S. H. McMullin, wife of the minister of the First Presbyterian Church, and the other under Mrs. Dr. Ray, a good old mother in the Episcopal Church.

A Presbyterian gentleman, noticing that a number of ladies of his denomination had been assigned to Mrs. Ray’s band, said to her, “You will have to furnish our ladies with prayer books.”

Many went out, thinking they could do nothing but uphold the hands of others, but the spirit of prayer descended, and prayer books were not needed: the dumb spake.

Numbers of these ladies had never prayed in public, until they offered prayer in saloons, or upon the street. Now, at the end of three and a half years, although the numbers have fallen off, there still remains enough of the faithful to sustain the prayer-meetings, generally two each week, and prosecute other branches of work. As to results, we can point to the brotherly love which has grown out of this union work: the churches of different denominations are united, as never before, and woman’s prayer-meetings and missionary societies have received fresh inspiration from the Crusade.

MADISONVILLE, OHIO.

The work commenced in this town on the 19th of February, but the Crusaders met with an obstinate resistance, especially from the German dealers. One of them, Hendel, told the ladies, “he would not quit selling whiskey till hell froze over.” Other saloon-keepers deluged their sidewalks with water, and they were soon a glare of ice, but women living near tore up their carpets and brought them for the use of the Christian workers, and the songs and prayer and work went on in spite of all opposition.

DELAWARE, OHIO.

Delaware, the Athens of Ohio, only a few miles from Columbus, has a population of about six thousand inhabitants. The moral sentiment of the town was opposed to the liquor traffic, and yet at the beginning of the Crusade twenty-three saloons went on with their deadly work, day and night.

Dio Lewis was invited to lecture for the Chi Phi Society of Wesleyan University. A large audience assembled to hear him, and at the close of the lecture, he pressed upon them the importance of the temperance cause, and pledged the women to the Crusade work. The women held a meeting at William Street Methodist Episcopal Church the next day, and a permanent organization was effected, with Mrs. A. S. Clason as President, and Mrs. Bishop Thompson as Secretary. All classes came forward to engage in the work. The pledge was freely circulated. Nearly a hundred young men of the Wesleyan University refusing to sign the pledge, great excitement and indignation followed. The young ladies of the town were so aroused, in view of this, that they formed a league, pledging themselves not to associate with any young man who had not signed the pledge. The young men, who had not counted on this, were speedily brought to terms, and most of them signed the pledge.

The saloon-keepers tried to compromise with the women, offering to sell nothing but beer, if the women would withdraw from the work. This the women refused to do, and the good work went on. Saloon after saloon surrendered, and the women were in a fair way to close all the saloons by prayer, when the men came forward on election day, and elected the entire temperance ticket. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed. All the bells of the town were rung, cannons were fired, and a praise meeting held in the Opera House, which was crowded to its utmost capacity.

The next day the women were on the street, as usual, determined to continue their work until every saloon was closed.

This town is the home of Mrs. H. C. McCabe, the able and efficient President of the State Union.

PORTSMOUTH, OHIO.

Portsmouth is a beautiful town on the Ohio river, near the mouth of the Scioto. It was one of the first points of settlement in the State, and from the day the first shanty was built, whiskey had flowed freely, without a protest, until the Woman’s Crusade.

Men came with their jugs and bottles weekly from the rich valley of the Scioto, and from the farming districts up and down the Ohio river, to get them filled with intoxicating liquors. And it was not uncommon for them to drive out of town too drunk to manage their horses.

Distilleries were built, and the products of the immense corn-fields of the valley of the Scioto, one of the richest valleys in the world, instead of being turned into bread, were sent to the distillery, and turned into the waters of death; and while the people grew poor, and the town began to put on a dilapidated appearance, the distillers and the liquor-dealers grew rich, built themselves fine houses, and became the nabobs of the town.

The people had groaned under the heavy burdens of the liquor traffic--crime and pauperism; and women with tears and prayers had cried unto God for deliverance, but all in vain. Despair had settled down on almost every true heart.

The tidings of the Crusade inspired them with fresh hope, and the women, after meetings for prayer and consecration, went out from the church into the saloons. They met with great opposition on the part of saloon-keepers and their customers, and the business men of the city refrained from taking any active part in the temperance work, for fear of losing trade and influence with the liquor party. The ladies, however, went on with unabated zeal in their work until the 6th of April, when the whiskey candidates were elected by an average majority of only forty-five, which the temperance men might have overcome if they had sustained the women in the work. Weaver, a colored barber at the Bazaar Hotel, was elected as a member of the Board of Education, the colored folks all voting for the whiskey candidates.

The ladies, undeterred by the liquor vote, were out on the street the next day, in larger numbers than ever. John Price, a saloon-keeper, whom they had visited, and prayed with frequently, but who claimed to sell only according to law, was soon after indicted for illegal selling, and tried before Hon. Judge Harper, and fined seventy-five dollars, put under bond for one thousand dollars, and sent to jail for thirty days. The severe penalty inflicted on Price by Judge Harper put a check upon the illegal traffic.

A correspondent of the _Cincinnati Gazette_, ten days after the election, gives the following report of the work there:

“The interest in the work here has greatly increased since the city election. The determination on the part of the temperance people to put down the traffic in our city is stronger to-day than it has been since the work began. The street work commenced Monday, March 16th. Since then the Ladies’ League have held over ninety street prayer-meetings each week, or nearly four hundred and fifty since the work began. Our success has not been as great as we had hoped for. The first surrender here was that of Mr. Redenger, who kept the most respectable saloon in the city. At that time we had fifty-two licensed saloons, nine wholesale liquor stores, and eight drug stores, which were in the habit of selling liquors without asking any questions. This gave us sixty-nine places where liquor was sold. Since then nine saloons have been closed, and all the druggists have signed the druggists’ pledge. The steamer ‘Granite State,’ one of our regular packets, has removed its bar; all our physicians but one have signed the physicians’ pledge; and one wholesale dealer the personal pledge. Hundreds of our citizens have signed the personal pledge. In addition to the above, our liquor men admit that their sales have fallen off from one-half to two-thirds. This work the ladies feel has been done in answer to the prayers of God’s people. The street work still goes on, with increasing strength and numbers. All day prayer-meetings are still held every day (Sundays excepted); mass-meetings every night, except Wednesdays and Saturdays; mass-meeting also on Sunday at three o’clock. From the above you will see that the war is not over in our city.”

Passing through the town since the Crusade, I could but notice the great change that had come over the place, and the improved moral atmosphere everywhere, although the distilleries and the saloons were still doing business. Just after the Crusade, there was a great flood in the Scioto and Ohio rivers, which destroyed nearly all the corn, and much other grain and property. The feeling was so intense against the distilleries on account of the scarcity of grain, and the high cost of bread-stuffs, that one wealthy distiller promised not to use up their grain in that way, a promise which, if reports are true, was not kept.

The women continued faithful through all the discouragements and successes, and are still at work.

STRYKER, OHIO.

A REMARKABLE SCENE.

Mrs. R. R. Wallace wrote from Stryker, Ohio, April 18th, to the _Western Advocate_:

“The ladies of our village have organized themselves into a ‘Woman’s Temperance League.’ We have not as yet visited the saloons, but are laboring in a different way. We meet as a band every Tuesday and Friday afternoon for prayer and speaking, and once a week prepare an entertainment or general mass-meeting for all interested in temperance. We held our first meeting on Friday evening, April 17th, and a more impressive scene was never witnessed in Stryker. The room was crowded to its utmost capacity. Several of our most prominent saloon-keepers were present. Our meeting was opened by singing and prayer; then a short address by Mrs. Lindsley, President of the League. We were next entertained by some very able and appropriate remarks by Colonel E. D. Bradley. While he was speaking, the husband of our president, who is a confirmed drunkard, came staggering toward the platform. With shame, mortification, and deepest anguish depicted on her countenance, the wife sprang to intercept him, not knowing what he would do. He pushed by her and reached the rostrum. Just as he passed her, she slipped the protruding bottle from his pocket, and placed it on the table at her side. In the meanwhile, the drunken, half-insensible husband returned to the audience and sat down. All was still as death; rising to her feet, and holding the bottle up to view, the half-frenzied wife exclaimed: ‘Here is the cause of my sorrow! Here are the tears--yea, the very life-blood of a drunkard’s wife. Look at it, rum-seller: Here is the poison dealt out by you to the once loved husband of my youth; but now (pointing to her husband) behold the remains--nothing but the remains--of what was once a noble and honored man. Love, truth, and even manhood itself has fled. Now behold him! And here (pointing to the bottle) is the cause.’ She stopped for a moment, and nothing was heard but the sobs of the audience; then turning her pale, anguish-stricken face toward heaven, she exclaimed, ‘How long, O Lord, shall intemperance reign--blighting our dearest earthly hopes and draining our very life’s blood!’ Then, turning to the audience, ‘Can you wonder why I raise my voice against this terrible evil? Sisters, will you help me?’ Cries of ‘Yes, yes!’ came from almost every lady in the house. She sat down pale and exhausted. The meeting concluded, but impressions were made that can never be erased. Sisters, take courage! the Lord is on our side, and right must prevail.”

CHILLICOTHE, OHIO.

Chillicothe is one of the oldest towns in the State. It was settled while the Indians still had possession of the territory. Like Hillsboro’ and Georgetown the early settlers were largely Kentuckians and Virginians, and the same idea of hospitality obtained. From the first settlement up to the present, whiskey has abounded.

Forty years ago, there was a large number of distilleries in the county. But public sentiment had gradually improved, and drinking became more and more disreputable, until the Crusade put its stigma upon it. Situated in the valley of the Scioto, this town will remain an important station between the corn-fields and the distilleries, till the traffic is overthrown.

Chillicothe has the honor of being the birth-place of Mrs. President Hayes, who sympathized with the Crusade movement, and has since done signal service by banishing liquors from the Presidential mansion.

Saturday, April 5th, the Ross County Temperance Alliance met in Chillicothe, and although the ground was covered with snow, and the morning cold and raw, there was a large attendance of men and women. In the afternoon four bands of women, of about forty in each band, went on the streets, while the fifth band remained in the church for prayer. They drew large crowds upon the streets to witness their visits, but for a while the voice of prayer and praise sounded out upon the comparatively still streets. The bystanders, although curious, were respectful, and only inside the saloons from which the women were excluded was there anything like opposition. At some places there was whistling, singing and dancing, while the women were singing and praying.

The women of this town, finding that Sabbath was the best day for the sale of beer and whiskey, continued their Crusade work on Sundays as on other days.

At the municipal election, the whiskey power was successful. But the ladies continued their work with increased zeal, regardless of the defeat at the polls; petitions and pledges were circulated, and finally a Women’s Temperance Union organized, with a view to a long and determined siege.

OTHER TOWNS.

The following towns had a part In the Crusade, and were more or less successful: London; Logan’s Gap; Pomeroy; Middleport; Lancaster; South Charleston; Sydney; Loveland; Middletown; Higginsport; Milford; Nelsonville; Frankfort; Upper Sandusky; New Lexington; Cadiz; Toledo; Berea; Darrtown; Woodstock; Somerville; Hamilton; Walnut Hills; Plymouth; Norwalk; Galion; Dennison; West Jefferson; Harmony Village; Yellow Springs; West Milton; Hanover; College Corner; Mechanicsburg; Mount Carmel; Fort Ancient; Mount Sterling; Sunbury; Osborn; Alpha; Ironton; and Sandusky.

INDIANA.