Temperance and Education ARTICLES ON NATION-WIDE BEING AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY MRS. ELIZABETH THOMPSON TOGETHER WITH AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON DECEM- AND AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE ON JUNE 13, 1882 RELATIVE TO AID FOR COMMON SCHOOLS BY HON. HENRY W. BLAIR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESENTED BY MR. SHEPPARD OCTOBER 16, 1914.-Referred to the Committee on Printing WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Hon. MORRIS SHEPPARD, COLORADO BUILDING, Washington, D. C., October 16, 1914. United States Senate, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR SENATOR: I inclose you what is known as the "Appeal of Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson to the American people," which speaks for itself. Mrs. Thompson was one of the most queenly and beautiful women of her time, of great ability, in fact a natural statesman, having considerable wealth which she devoted to the development of the great causes of temperance, education, and the elevation of the masses of mankind, having a large acquaintance with the higher order of reformers in our own and other countries. She expended large sums in the establishment of the early secret orders of agriculture, such as the Patrons of Husbandry, which led to the Grange of the present day, and she was connected with the peace movement in its early stages, being associated with its leaders and with the leaders of the uplift movement for the masses in Europe as well as in our own country. She presented to the United States the picture of the "Signing of the Proclamation of Emancipation by President Lincoln," which hangs in the corridor of the House of Representatives, and in various ways was a God-sent blessing to mankind. When I introduced and delivered the original proposed constitutional prohibitory amendment and made the speech thereon in the House of Representatives, December 27, 1876, and also the speech at the first session of the Forty-fourth Congress, in the spring of 1876, entitled "Our public schools, are they in danger," which was the practical foundation of the movement for national aid to general education in our country, her attention was strongly attracted to both, and finally, after the introduction of the original bill providing temporary aid for common schools, and the speech thereon which I made in the Senate on June 13, 1882, Mrs. Thompson expressed an earnest desire to assist in their general circulation, and requested me to prepare a short address from her to the people to be prefixed as an introduction to a reprint of those speeches. The result was this inclosed document, which was largely circulated through her beneficence. I have but very few copies remaining, but do not know how better to dispose of one of them than by asking a national leader of the cause of temperance and education to accept it. The prohibitory constitutional amendment and the speech thereon were prepared without knowledge of anyone, as the subject was entirely new and no party favorable to it, and I felt that I might S D-63-2-vol 29———47 3 weaken under the pressure of friends, if not the opposition of foes, if I subjected myself to either, so I took no one into my confidence until the deed was done, except two confidential friends who were leaders in the National Temperance Society, and they kept my secret until I gave the matter publicity myself in the public records. Some division among the advocates of temperance having arisen in the year 1884, I agreed with Miss Willard, president of the W. C. T. U., and Mr. Stearns, secretary of the National Temperance Society, upon the form in which it was thereafter to be pressed, and as I originally wrote it and as it appeared subsequent to this agreement, I introduced and advocated the amendment in each Congress during the 18 years of my public life. The original form of the amendment would no doubt long since have been incorporated in the Constitution if I had not yielded to the modification which I mentioned, about 1884. I can not go into the historical proof of the assertion at this time. The present movement and proposition as advocated by yourself and Capt. Hobson have my strong approval and support, unless you can strengthen the proposition somewhat further before it is submitted to the people; but I realize that my personal judgment is very likely to be faulty, and I am ready to aid to the best of my ability for the remaining years of my life in securing the ratification of a prohibitory constitutional amendment in such form as your younger minds and broader vision may think best. I have suggested a few modifications and have fashioned them in my own mind with some precision, and should there be opportunity hereafter, would be glad should they be considered before the final act of submission by Congress. The question whether any time should be allowed to elapse after the ratification had actually taken effect, during which the property interests concerned might be converted into some other form without ruin to its owners, and also whether the amendment can be evaded by leaving the way open to manufacture, for all purposes but sale, by individuals, partnerships, corporations, or concerns of a cooperative nature who could distribute the products to the stockholders everywhere, as tenants in common might own equally in the products of a farm or in the results of any operation of a joint nature, and thus there be universal distribution and use without sale, should be fully considered. I endeavored to secure an interview with the representative of the Anti-Saloon Society upon the same subject, but failed to do so. I think, however, that when Dr. Dinwiddie and others consider this point they will give the entire strength of their great organization, upon which so much depends, to some modification of the amend ment, so that if we can succeed in the ratification the years of effort in that direction may not be lost. There must be the utmost harmony and earnestness of operation among all the friends of this great temperance movement, which concerns not alone our own country but the world, if it is to achieve success. The appeal of Mrs. Thompson, if it should be printed in the form of a public document, would preserve invaluable statistics and other data for the causes of both temperance and education, which I know to be almost certain to be lost unless something is done to preserve them. The census tables were chiefly formulated by me, and Com |