DOMINION PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

White Ribbon, Volume 26, Issue 12, 1 May 1955, Page 3

DOMINION PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Dear Fellow Members, I do hope this year will be one of great activity and that our slogan “Advance by five in fifty-five” will mean something to us individually. We are setting out to gain five new members in each Union, five more subscribers for the “White Ribbon", five more babies on our Cradle Rolls: in fact in all our work let us try to multiply by five. It is a goal worth striving for and one that is being used by some of our Sisters overseas, so lei us spur ourselves to high endeavour. If every Union will make the effort, I am sure the gaining of new members will soon be an accomplished fact. Do the women in your Churches know exactly what the W.C.T.U. has done oxer the years and what is still being accomplished? We have such a wonderful record and if we will only let our Christian sisters know, I am sure, they will the more quickly and happily join our ranks. Sometimes one is tempted to wonder if we are not too diffident about what we have to offer. I remember reading about Carrie Nation of America, who literally smathed her way into publicity for the cause of Temperance. Well, I would not ask you to be quite so violent, but too weak a docility is not going to save the world and I rather feel that Christians will need to be riore reckless for Christ.

A little while ago I went on what is vulgarly called a “Pub Crawl”, that is I went into various hotels not to partake of any refreshment, but to see for myself what the places look like and what kind of guests enter their doors. I was not impressed, in fact my heart was sad indeed and I came away wandering why we allow, in this enlightened age, such a drink to be sold. The bars and the lounges in many instances were crowded. Some patrons were flushed, some w r ere stupid, and | some were truly drunk. They were not all drunkards, certainly not; some were very respectable but one could not help wondering how’ many xvere going to finsh up as problem drinkers and whom the Alcoholic Annonymous and others are doing so much to help. BUT WHY MUST WE |HAVE THIS DRINK AT ALL? Science has proved that alcohol in any form is a dangerous [poison and in “beverage alcohol” it causes men and women to scale increditable heights of folly. It causes • insanity, loss of moral restraint, loss of character and worse still, loss of soul. Beverage alcohol is a menace even to the unborn; its consumption to suicidal to both men and nations and not even the vaunted revenue from it, offsets its monstrous cost to men and women and children. e might feel ourselves, like David, before a colossal Goliath, such as the Liquor Trade, which

makes ard sells the brew for profit, nevertheless we dare not refuse to sling our stone of Truth at this mightily entrenched evil. That is our duty and responsibility. Yours in joyous service, CONSTANCE TOOMER