W.C.T.U.

Wairarapa Age, 23 March 1925, Page 5

W.C.T.U.

A SPECIAL MEETING.' A well-attended meeting of the W.C.T.U. members and other,ladies was held in the Salvation Army Hall on Saturday afternoon and presided over by Mrs J. Cocker The occasion was the visit of Envoy (Miss) Pauline Swartz, of the United States, whom Mrs Cocker, on behalf of the Union, welcomed in a vary homely way Those present were delighted with the instructive and inspiring address given by Miss Swartz, who said that she wore no other dress than the plain uniform of the Salvation Army; her only evening dress was the same uniform with the* little college pin which she was wearing. Concerning prohibition in America the speaker stated that she lived in hotels wherever she visited and that, since prohibition, the American hotel was greatly improved. Before prohibition, “boozers’ ’’ days were frequently held by the Salvation Army, but now they were unnecessary. Home life among the poorer classes had improved and the children now had a chance. Before prohibition they were often cursed' into the world; now they were born. The country was advancing as never before, finncially, socially and morally. Miss Swartz then gave a charge to the members of the W.C.T.U., reminding them that their’s was a Christian organisation first and temperance second.

A devotional talk followed, based on the Songs of David and many old hymns‘that lived through the years. Mentioning a song, sung in America after the abolition of the slave traffic, “Thank God the curse is gone,” she hoped that New Zealand would soon sing it in reference to the drink traffic.

The meeting closed with the singing of the Doxology.