The White Ribbon. For God and Home and Humanity. WELLINGTON, AUGUST 18, 1923. NOTES FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK. GONE WEST.

White Ribbon, Volume 29, Issue 338, 18 August 1923, Page 7

The White Ribbon. For God and Home and Humanity. WELLINGTON, AUGUST 18, 1923. NOTES FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK. GONE WEST.

Yes, we like to think of our friends who have left us as "Gone West.’ Gone with the sun. pone to Him in “Whom is no darkness at all." How mtny who bore the burden and heat o* he day, and who led the van in the nrly days of our movenunt, have one West! Let us spend a few minites in our temperance valhalla, where ■-.well the spirits of those who, "through faith,” did mighty deeds in storming the strongholds of King Alio hoi, and through faith and patience now inherit the promises.

Mrs Kirk, one of Wellington’s early President*; her daughter, Mrs Atkinson, a N,Z. President; Mrs Fanny Pole, wise counsellor and guide; Mrs Oldham, the talented Editor ot our paper; Mrs Hoxall, for many years an officer of Wellington District l T ui«n; Mrs Brown, the earliest W.C.T.U. member in the Dominion; Mrs Hughes and Mrs Daldy, of Auckland; Mrs Troy, of Napoo-; Mrs Costall and Mrs Phmmer, of Wellington, and many more who rendered valiant service to our cause. And how our souls stir within us ns we think of the noble army of temperance workers the wide world over who have laboured, fought and prayed for a dry world. Gan we not hear the ringing rail of our own loved Lilian M. Stevens. "A dry world in 1930?" and does not that trumpet call rouse us to a fresh determination so to work and so to pray that our part of tin* world may respond to that call? "ran you say that the lone line of God-fearing souls. Who have marched where the van guard has led. Have faltered, have weakened, surren dered their arms, Have retreated in panic and fled? Nay! Nay! And should we who are honoure* 1 to bear The standard so nobly upreared, Prove recreant, wavering, less loyal than they?" The little is world-wide; everywhere the forces of evil are marshalling their array, defeated, driven Rack in one land, they hurl themselves with renewed fury upon another. And everywhere the different battalion." in God’s army are joining and linking up in one great world movement; an army in which there are no races, no creeds, no colour, no sex. but just the soldiers of the living God from every land, out of every church, with skins black, white, brown or yellow, sinking ail differences of opinion in their grand onward march to Prohibition. Repeatedly driven back, again they sound their rallying cr>, “They never fail who dare to try again. “Have you heard the cry that’s sounding in world wide trumpet call? ’Tis the battle cry of freedom from the reigi of alcohol; The century Is speaking —'Satan’s king dom soon must fall’; The times are marching on.

’Tis sounding from heaven’s battle. ments, vhere praises never cease; The angel cnorus sings it, that once hailed the Prince of Peace; And Christ is .eading all His hosts for man’s supreme release; God’s host.* are marching on. SIGN OF THE TIMES. In No-License districts hotels have been converted into shops with great financial gain to their owners. In a far Northern town, just before last I oil, a costly hotel was built, but so arranged that it could eusil> lx* converted into shops when “New Zealand goes dry." Now comes tin- cheering news that two of Auckland’s oldest pubs are to be converted into shops. The Waitemata and Thames Hotels stand upon what have been called the finest business sites in the Dominion. '1 hey are right at the bottom of Queen Street, right in the stream of the busiest traffic in Auckland, probably in the Dominion. The properties belong to the Dilworth estate, and the trustees after very careful consideration, have decided that when the leases fall in on .’line 30, 1925, they wall not be renewed. The trustees intend to erect a number of really first-class shops on ihe street level, with office.* on the upper floors. May this be just an indi cation of the time coming when hotels shall no longer disfigure the best sites in our rities, and teach othei propertyowners that shops pay in every was than hotels. TEMPERANCE AT I’NITEI > FREE CHURCH ASSEMBLY IN StXITLAND. A NV\" Zealand minister’s wife, member of Auckland W.C.T.U., on a visit to the Horn land, thus writes;- "We were privileged to attend the temperance demonstration of the U.F.C. Assembly. It was a crowded and enthusiastic meeting—the hall holds 2500. Each speaker took up one special aspect of the work. Mrs Charteris spoke very quietly, relating the story of the Kilsyth fight for No-License, and besought qur prayers for Kilsyth at the coming elections, knowing that the trade is preparing a big attempt to upset it. As usual, the woman kept to her point, and sat down when she had had her say. Assembly was delighted with her straightforward and very womanly speech."

*'\Ve who know .something of the vested interests in the trade at Home are .ust surprised and delighted at the pro.re.ss No-License is making in Scotland. The goal, of course, is National and World-Wide 1 ’rohibition.” SOLDIERS* MOTHERS LEAGUE. We note that the above League con grutuluted the I’pper House for opposing won en as J.iV*. These ladies have a perfect right to say they consider themselves as unfit to be J.IWs. but the mothers of our soldiers are eminnently fitted to act on juries, and as J.P.’s, and the women pleading for this reform an* mostly soldiers* mothers, sisters, and wives. LIGHT SENTENCES. Our Unions are protesting, and rightly so, at the absurdly light sentence inflicted upon a man for great eruelt\ to a child of two years old. When helpless children are abused so cruelly and repeatedly, the sentence should be severe enough to net as a deterrent. OFFENCES AGAINST LITTLE GIRLS. Mr Justice Henlman gave a very severe sentence to a young rran for- a criminal assault upon a little girl of seven. The Judge remarked that it was one of the worst case.*- he had known. The offender offered to be sterilised. It is time that our laws provided some means of protecting little girls, either by doing as this prisoner suggested, or by confining sexual dogenerates on farm colonies, where they will be kindly treated, healthily employed, but kept where they cannot repeat their offence. TI * Y r EN 11 ,E DEPRAVITY. Magistrates. Judges, Court and Prison officials are all expressing concern at the increase of juvenile crime. It is a fact, and all deplore it. and we are pleased to note that these high authorities are enquiring the cause of it. Parental neglect is one cause suggested, probably a correct one. but the cause of pa rental neglect is presumably the same as the cause of juvenile depravity, viz., an error in our educational system. We have provided for training physically and mentally, and there we stop. We overlook the fact that man b a trinity, tody, soul or intellect, and spirit. For the training and educating of the spirit tlie Sta e makes no provision. Until

some better foundation for morality is found it was a fatal error to banish the Bible from our schools. Our system of education is not Godless while it is in the hands of teachers who were trained by Godly parents, and were taught the stern morality of the Ten Commandments, with the beautiful spirit of the Sermon on the Mount. This race of teachers and parents is passing away, and education and training are falling into the hand.*- of those reared in our Bibleless schools. The finest way, and we believe the only way, to train good citizens is to make them feel their personal responsibility to the Divine Ruler of the Universe, to teach them that all through the ages it has been proved that “Righteousness exalteth a nation. '* and we know of nothing but ♦ho Bible which can teach thus.