STOCKTAKING DAY AT UTOPIA CENTRAL.

White Ribbon, Volume 31, Issue 366, 18 December 1925, Page 1

STOCKTAKING DAY AT UTOPIA CENTRAL.

I» r **B: — Dear Sisters, you have been called together to-day by special resolution of >our Executive. The Poll is over, and we did not gain our objective. We worker, we prayed,we voted, we failed. Why? This afternoon we want to answer that question, not in a spirit of criticism of what las been done; but in a spirit ot earnest desire that the tuture may escape the pitfalls and the failures of the past. Now, our Evangelistic Superintendent will open our meeting in due form. Mrs Wood: We will sing our Crusade Hymn. Never have we needed more its words of inspiration, of calm courage, and of lofty faith. They sing “Give to the winds thy

fears.” Mrs Wood: Let us read our Crusade Psalm, alternate verses. They read the Crusade Psalm, and then Mrs Wood engages in prayer. Pres; Let us recite our Pledge standing. All: I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from all intoxicating liquors, including wine, beer and cider, and to employ all proper means to discourage the use of and traffic in the same. Pres: Now, raising our right hand let us recite our determination as set out in our Initiatory Service. All: We pledge ourselves in the name of Jesus, our Strength and our Deliverer, to work and to pray till death or victory, to remove the stumbling blocks out of the way ot our weaker brethren and sisters.

Pres: It is well sometimes to remind ourselves that we enlisted for “the period of the war.” “Till death or victory” our pledge puts it. Now, our secretary will read the minute calling this meeting. Sec: The Executive resolved, that our members he each one, personally invited to a special meeting, its object being to discuss our future policy, and to discover what more we as a Union and as individuals can do to bring victory to our cause. Pres: We are not here to criticise other workers, or other organisations. Many things contributed to our want of success, chiefly perhaps the want of a straight clear cut issue—wet or dry. But only Parliament can give us that. Don't let us waste time blaming ti e Parliaments of the past, realise thnt we got the Parliament we ourselxes elected; one ot the wettest members in last Parliament was sent thert by ihe votes of leading prohibitionists. To-day, the problems facing us are -How can we get a Parliament to give us legislation to saye our children from that trinity of evils Drink, Gambling, Impurity. And again, how can we most effectively educate our voters present and to come to demand such a parliament. Mrs A: I think, my dear President, you have stated the position clearly. As one of the oldest members of our Dominion Union, it has caused me much thought, and the outcome is this: —Our I nion, with its pledge of personal abstinence, with its splendid traditions of a glorious past, with its fine array of departments, its organised mother love

-caring for the babe on its Cradle 8011, the child in its L.T.L's., the youth and maiden in its Y.P. Societies, our Union, I believe has the organisation to do a work as as this. Yet, tell m\ my President, where you think we have failed. Pres: I quite agree with our dear old sister; my thoughts have run 'on similar lines. I will tell you where I have failed myself. I have many friends, abstainers, who sympathise with the work, and 1 examine myself “How’ many of these have I asked to join us?” Other friends believe in taking “a little wine for their stomach’s sake.” How many of these have I gained as subscribers to our White Ribbon, in reading which they would learn how alcohol is no medicine, but a narcotic habit-forming drug. And as it is with me, so it may be with other members of our Union. Sisters! I’m not proud of my record, are you?

Mrs B: 1 tlnnk we are too ready to drop our own work for anything els > that cair.es along. We help all good causes and rightly so, as individuals, but as a Union, our first and best efforts should go to strengthen our own organisation, for I am convinced that the quickest way to bring prohibition is to get every available woman linked up in one strong band to work for “God and Home and Humanity.” Mr* A: Yes, and do as we did in the early days of our w'ork, go and ask them to join us. Women will come if we go personally after them. It’s the personal touch that counts. I’ve found that out in my four score years of life.

Treas: I have just a word to say. In my opinion .our Unions give their funds, or rather raise funds too freely for other objects. While our own work is so hampered for want of a Headquarters, while our organising work is so cramped for want of funds, I do not believe in Unions voting money, or raising money for anything but our own Funds. That does not touch us as individuals, we can work for any and every object d**ar to our heart. But our Unions should be loyal to our own work, and support our own funds. Pres: That is so Madame Treasurer. Will our Secretary tell us the population of our city? Sec: It is roughly about 100,000. I’res: How many W.C.T.U. memIk rs in our city? Sec: In our city and suburban Unions we have 500 members. Pres: Not a large portion. I think we can improve that. Chorus: Yes, Yes. Pres: How many White Ribbon subscribers? Sec: Nearly ;>t)o. Pres: Can you tell me how many of those subscribers are members of tin* Union. Sec: Not exactly. 1 wrote to the Business Manager, and she tells me that one suburban Union with over 100 members has only 19 White Kibbon subscribers, another with 0 7 members has 91 White Ribbon subscribers. W.R. Agent: Yes, and that Union will increase, because non-members are reading our paper, becoming interested in our work, and some of them will become members. Pres: What is our membership 7 Treas: 1 OH fully paid up, but quite 10 more would pay il waited upon for their fee. Pres: Cannot you get help to collect fees? Treas: I’ve tried to get others to help, but all seem too busy. Pres: Is it any wonder we failed? We must not leave all work to officers and leaders. Everyone must help. “No righteous cause was ever won Without the rank and file to see it done.” Mrs Q: Is it a good thing to have members who never attend our meetings? Pres: Most decidedly, yes. Lack of attendance does not mean lack of interest. In many cases our mem-

bers are aged, sick, kept at lioim by a young family, or those who arc at work cannot attend afternoon meetings. Mrs Wood: We can do a. little more to help these absentees, by visiting them whenever possible, by sending them reports of our mendings, and keeping them as closely in touch with our work as we can.

Mrs B: Dili you notice that Miss Henderson .in her address about our U.S.A. sisters, said that many of their large churches allow W.C.T.U. leaders ten minutes in their pulpits after the sermon, to make an appeal for members. Could anything be done along these lines here. Pres: I’m very doubtful if our churches would welcome an innovation of this kind. But we might get two or three women from each church to keep in touch with our activities, and act as links, between us. Mrs Mee, you belong to St. Martha's. How many of their women have you asked to join our Union. They must have about 1500 women in their congregation. Mrs Mee: I have asked a few. Pres: How many, a dozen? Mrs Mee: Well perhaps! not more. Pres: Why not ask every woman in that congregation, and in every congregation. No Christian woman in our city should be in a position to say she has not been asked to join our Union.

Mrs A: My experience is that most of th 'tii are so busy with church and mission work, that they will hardly listen to you. Treas: You will not think I underestimate Mission work, I know. For many years I’ve been an officer in our P.W.M.U., and because l am a mission worker, I’m a White Kibboner. Our Mission sisters everywhere speak of the hindrance strong drink is to their work, and I long for the time when it will be removed. We whit*' women, when we sent our missionaries carrying the gospel to heathen lands, allowed the same ships to carry that devil in solution —rum. Because I feel so deeply the wrong we did our darkskinned sisters, I must work and pray till that evil is atoned for. and the way cleared for tiie sister’s gospel effort. The Christian women of the Empire could have stopped this traffic

had they been organised and in nest. Pres: If our mission workers realised how vital to the success < their work is the prohibition of th liquor trade, they would join with us and together we should be irresistible. Mrs Mee: I’ll try my b<*l to gr members in our church, and to k- ; up the interest fn our work. Pres: Will others do this? Mrs B: I’ll promise for our church to work till I get lift) members. Mrs Dee: And I’ll try for Wldu Ribbon subscribers. Mrs W: It’s so hard to get folk nowadays to take an interest in , »y good work. Pres: Do you know anythin, worth doing which is easy to do? 1 don’t! We White Ribboners nni:* lx* like Daniel. The lions couldn't eat him because all of him that wasn’t backbone was pure grit. Any weakling can drift, but only a strong swimmer can breast the tide. Mrs X: You belong to the Tennh and Croquet Clubs. How many of their members have you sought to got as members. Mrs X: Not one, but I'm game to tackle every one this iiex' ar. It'? got to in* done, and we White Rib boners are the women to do it. Sec: it may interest you to knov that as a result of a slip of paper I have passed around, 1 tied out that the <>o women here to-day have asked 25 women during the past year t« join us. No one but the White Rib bon Agent has asked any to subscribe to our paper. Pres: An* you satisfied with tlii s Sisters?

Voices: No! No! Pres: Will you bettor it this year Mrs Wood: Can we make it 25 each one this next year. Voices: We will, Clod helping us Pres: Sisters, we have taken stock, and we start the New Y*«r with increased courage and det»*rmination, and with a faith unfaltering, that our next year’s record ''ill be one to be proud of. Mrs Colo will recite to us, and then we’ll sing our temperance doxolou: and adjourn. Mrs Cole: “Move to the fore, sa} not another is fitter than thou; Shame to thy shrinking; Up! face thj task now;

Own thyself equal to ail a soul may, Cease thy evading, God needs tliet* to-day! Move to the fore!” Move to the fore, God Himself waits and must wait till thou come; Men are God’s prophets, though ages be dumb; Halts the Christ Kingdom with conquest so near, Thou art the cause, then, thou soul in the rear, Move to the fore! Doxology.