Our Messenger from Le Loup, Kansas • 1

i 4 Behold, I Bring You Good Tidings." VOL. XIX. No. 3. Price 2 Cents Per Year Downs, Kansas, December, 1903.

was not there, and Miss Southard was empowered to give the response in her place for the Young Woman's branch. We were not at all disappointed in her, and although she was not on the program to preach on Sunday, her speech won her an invitation to preach at Milford, a suburb of the city, that was the early seat of Methodism in Ohio, the first M. E. class having been formed there. A reception was given at the Burnett house by the local women to the National officers.

Ih.cmMSL -I'm 1 jj Christmas. The shepherds, pillowed on the sod Weary with watching and forlorn Heard sweet-voiced angels, praising God And saw a radiance, like the morn The night our blessed Christ was bom. And sages from the sunrise came They bore full many a costly gem. They saw before them, still the same, Lighting their way and guiding them. The shining star of Bethlehem.

They brought Him gold as to a king; And frankincense, a priestly due. And yet another offering. The embalming myrrh, as if they knew How he would die, for me, for you Teach us, dear Teacher, how to bring Gifts, pleasing to the Christ-child, still. What bet'er, for an offering Than true submission to His Will And love no chastening can chill unto the erring, charity. Unto the suffering, swift relief.

Unto the sad, our gift may be A tender sympathy with grief Cur time for giving is so brief Mrs. McVean-Adams. MISS MARY E. DOBBS, President Third District W. C.

T. The department reports were unusually good this year, and I only wish I could report all of them. Kansas came in for her share of prizes and honorable mention. We came home the proud possessors of tbree banners: Work among Miners, School Savings Bank, and Scientific Temperance Instruction. The banner for Work among Miners was given for the best work done, and the most literature distributed.

Tre banner for School Savings Bank was given for greatest per cent, gain of any state in the Union, in the number of new banks taking up school savings. S. T. I. banner was given to Kansas for having introduced the most copies of the Oral Lessons in our public schools.

Besides this, we secured the Silver Star, the prize given for best report for Press work. For the neatest and most methodical report of work done we are to receive from the National superintendent of Purity in Literature and Art, $25 to make a life member to the National of some Kansas woman. Of course, those of us that are familiar with" Mrs. Adams' hand writing and know her work, are not surprised that she secured the prize. We received honorable mention for several departments.

Christian Citizenship commended Kansas for "special features," and New Jersey, Colorado and Kansas were the three states that this department gave credit for "Best all around work." A few of our departments had no reports at National, or were too late with them to have them published. The R. R. secretary gave her motto, "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth, and even forevermore. The School Savings Bank superintendent gave a fine report.

She introduced a resolution asking the government to make the savings banks at government schools compulsory. Carlisle Indian school has a savings bank, and $40,000 has been deposited by the students. $20,000 of the deposits were taken home by the pupils on returning to their homes. Texas took one of the Purity prizes. Their state superintendent of Purity was present.

She is the youngest state superintendent in the United States. She is but seventeen years old and is doing excellent work. National Superintendent of Penal Institutions gave an impressive report. I gleaned this, that in many southern prisons they have not proper facilities for caring for their prisoners. In Tennessee, prisoners' services are sold to the highest bidder to work in mines or on the railroads.

The average life of a prisoner working in the mines is five years. Mrs. Mary Lovell, of Pennsylvania, superintendent of. Mercy, is surely the right woman' in the right place. Even her face fits her department.

Sweet and gentle, with a thorough knowledge and belief in her department, she gave a report that should be read by every white ribbon-er. Mrs. Mary H. Hunt asked again this year that she be made secretary Of the Bureau of Scientific Temperance Investigation, and superintendent of Scientific Temperance Instruction. Mrs.

Hunt generally receives what she asks, and though people thought the title cumbersome and, unweildy, I Continued on page six go round, with every one glad when the machine stopped. I would not tell you all this, but I know how often you have thought of what it would mean to go back to the old crusade state, and you have had highMdeals of what this convention would be, and longed to be there. Knowing the conditions, I felt thankful that our delegation was no larger. Let us draw a lesson from this. What makes a good convention? It is largely the work put into it in the work of preparation, by the local committee, as they carefully study details.

We are largely creatures of environment, and if our environment be pleasant we do not stop as often as we should to be grateful to those who have made all things possible. In our Kansas delegation we had Mrs. McVean Adams, Mrs. Carrie Flatter, A. E.

Dumenil and Madeline Southard. Mrs. Stevens' address, the first morning, the press of Cincinnati said was "a masterly exposition of the efforts and successes of the W. C. T.

and contained an outline of the plans of campaign in the She said we have 59 different nations in the World's W. C. T. U. If the address does not appear in the new Union Signal, send five cents to the publishers of our W.

T. P. A. literature for a copy of the address. The corresponding secretary, Mrs.

Fry, reported 332 unions organized, with 9,547 members, this being a report merely of Work of National organizers. The receipts of Wlllard memorial fund $4,138. Eleven states made a gain of over five hundred new members, and some of them well on towards 2,000. Michigan, Mrs. Benjamin's state, took the banner for greatest state gain.

Toe treasurer's national Convention. Cincinnati looks much nearer to Kansas on the map than it really is. Going, I made the trip in about thirty hours of continuous travel. Returning, our train was several hours late in reaching St. Louis and we found on coming into the large union depot that the train to Kansas City had pulled out twenty minutes before our arrival, eo we had to wait until an evening train.

I am glad that my last National convention was not my first one. I am afraid if it had been I should never have cared to have gone again. If I I had been a guest of the convention city I would not feel as free to speak as I now feel. Of the seven National conventions I have attended, none have been so poorly arranged for, or, as poorly entertained. Surely Cincinnati is not a convention city.

I do not believe a delegate could be found that would vote for the future return of the convention there. I thought at first it was the fault of the committee on ar-arrangements. It was. in part, but the obstacles they had to contend with were many. The convention church was no larger than many to be found in towns of five to ten thousand inhabitants.

When the delegates were seated the body of the church was filled nearly to its utmost capacity. One of the larger churches of the city was solicite I for the convention but one of the wealthy, prominent men that controlled the church "objected to the W. C. T. U.

convention going into the saying, he "would not have tobacco spit around in their church. The ignorance of the world is not confined to the west. It occurred to me after this statement was publicly made that the portion of Ohio surrounding Cincinnati was not as aggressive as the unions of Kansas, or he would have known something of an organization that stands for every moral reform. About the entertainment of delegates. When we reached there we found there were no arrangements.

After eating- breakfast, Mrs. Benjamin of Michigan, Mrs. Stoddard of Texas, and I started out to find a place. It is amusing, now that is is over, but it was not one bit funny at the tim'e. Of course the executive were expected to entertain themselves during the two days of executive, and as a national implement association was holding forth during a me week we found hotel wded with men who large ly of all the.

cis. One woman told us that they4made her a comfortable cot in a bath room the night previous. But the only encouragement we received was that Saturday they could accomodate us, but as it was Wednesday, and we had no place to leave our grips in the meanwhile, we concluded something, must be done. We then went to the committee, but found they knew- but little more than we did. We soon learned what they knew, which was, that the could not entertain the convention, that they had only places for about a hundred and that they expected the presidents, organizers and lecturers, in fact, "all that could, must take care of So we three started out trying to find rooms.

We missed the morning session. We probably rang the door bell at thirty or forty places. Many were crowded, some places we got into seemed questionable, and after walk ing blocks, we found rooms 'vith a woman whose face was like sunshine, and who gave us a cheery welcome every time, we entered the home, and a God speed when we left to go' back no more. But some of our women were not so fortunate as we, but spent their first night in rooms that were for rent, that they later found were of a questionable character. such a lack of planning on the part of the committee cannot be easily overlooked.

Mrs. Clark, president of Ohio, was not to blame. Two weeks before the convention met she real zed that they could not entertain the convention as they ought, and wanted the convention changed to Columbus, where the National body could have been properly cared for. Cincinnati did help the National treasury by entertaining, at one of the best hotels, the National officers. Of course it is always done by the city entertaining, but when I thought of the delegates from Texas.

Colorado, and the- Pacific states, paying their own board, I wondered if they did not do their share in helping pay expenses and helping out the National treasury. Crowded, jammed and packed in the church were the delegates, so of course there was more confusion than usual. Our rooms were so far away from the restaurantwhere wetook ourmealsthat we needed to take a street car. So, between the hours of convention, a room in one place, our meals to be secured in another, with executive sessions part of the time at the hotel, this convention seemed to me like a merry- books proved to us that "figures won't I he," and our actual gain in membership, as reported by national and state organizers foots up (3954 members. One of the attractions of every National convention is Rev.

Wilbur Crafts, of the Reform Bureau, Washington, D. C. Ele is always an inspiration, and adds to the enthusiasm of convention. He is an honorary member of the W. C.

T. and this year Mrs. Einilie Martin made him a life member of the National W. C. T.

U. Welcome night was, as such nights always are, full of bright, interesting welcomes. Mrs. ClaraParrish Wright i 8.