The Oregon daily journal., April 26, 1908, Page 28, Image 28

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How Mrs. Armor, Tem
perance Joan of Arc,
ights Her Battles.
Yp IRE burns in the, eyes of this woman; -fi
,4 sweeps in a torrential flow of words
from her lips; it seems to envelope '
her when she talks. It is the spiritual fire of
the crusader, the enthusiast, imbued with one
absorbing mission in life. Such a fire filled
the soul of the Maid of Orleans as she heark
ened to the votces of the saints. ;
Largely due to the passionate campaign
ing of one woman Mrs. Mary Harris Ar
tn or ts the- wave of local option sentiment
that has been sweeping communities and en
tire states. She is known as the, "Joan of
lire of Temperance ' "the Georgia Cyclone"
and tlthe Whirlwind White Ribboner of the
South.", During, campaigns she has seemed
absolutely tireless, addressing sixteen, eight
een, twenty; sometimes more meetings in a
tieek. Her, words are flaming, her exhorta
tions sway audiences as a storm lashes the
frees of the forest. - . '
Hundreds of people have asked the secret
t)f this woman's poxer. Her influence over
Vie negroes of the South during recent cam
paigns, was marvelous. Saloonkeepers gave
vp their trade after hearing her. Since last
Huly she Has nol rested a day, touring the
tountrjf and stirring the local option move
ment tn the North. i
"What am It Who am It What does
it matter what I am. froth whence I come f
,- , ' . . .1 . t
am merely an instrument tn the hands of
nnA: An A PA Ai, tn t, the coutttrv ro drv '
www m- -w w -" - -r O
the says, when questioned. "
f lira Mary HirrU Armor burni -with enthusl-
asm.' TVkeUier on. believe, in th. cau. h.
I plead, er not, h. 1. ttruck toy the manifest .ln
cerlty ot the woman. She U in deadly earnest,
the believe, absolutely In tb. fllvin. mission entruitad
to ber. .. , " : . ;,V 'J-i 'f
Caught In the tempest of Inspiration, as sbe stands
fcefor. an audlenc, ber body rways, ber bands wave,
be .wings ber arms, pleads, exhorts, thunders her de
nunciation or tb .aloon and In a tremulous vole. tall,
pf th. bavoo Bb.'assert. Is wroueht by drink. 1
. She 1. an orator. Epigrams sparkle on ber lips. At
time, ber wit scintillate. - Tet ber first temperance lec
ture and as ab claims the beat one ever delivered la
tier life was Impromptu, before a country Sunday school
meeting.' Five minute, before the address she never
dreamed ot' publicly pleading the cause which, la her
private life, she strongly favored.
"I was called by God' she explains. "When I spoke
-well. It all cam over me. I was an Instrument In th
f rom 600 to 6000. ' She moves them and sways ber hearer,
l y the magic of & remarkable eloquence. As she stands
i n a platform decorated with flags and white ribbons.
t ha is the same .plain, unassuming woman who attends,
v, hrn she can, to her farm home at Eastman, Ga.
J uBt a plain, motherly, sweet-f aced woman. She I.
r Uk r thin and dresses In black. About the collar of her
. a band of white niching and at her neck a .tin
1. at i-t of pearla. : ,v ,t .
Her hair is brown,' ber eyes gray. If one were asked
ti obsignate th chief eharacterlstlo of the temperance
v ork-r. he would be compelled to say her eyes. Pleasant
mi bight always, they simply flash with-welL one
i , bt tay a white heat, when she talks.
"In t n ypars the liquor trafflo will be wiped from th.
r r p of th United States," she exclaims. "Th- fiat of
t . Almighty has gone forth! The doom of the accurd
S; ijvrnal. dwnnlng trafflo Is written upon the walll"
t he Jfoints to heaven. Her face-glows with ecstasv
Tliy say I am a visionary. 1 am! The Bible tellaifa
t tt we shall see visional, that our God will pour out hi.
iirit upon all flesh. - - r . ,7,, f1"
"Yes, I see a vision. It Is of the conquering hosts of
T-eavfn sweeping out the blackening curse of the rum
-vii. It Is of the Ohurch of God marching to the SiZ
,'iuction of the foe of tho Almighty. Arm ua. o Onrfl
Vise does not wonaer, tnen;
that the eloquesce of
t'iis woman moved the South; that after her plea befor
h C.PorKla Legislature the prohibition law vu
1 the etiite went dry; that at Birmingham. Ala' M
..tred a hopeless district, she led tho anti-liquor forces
victory, and that wherever she went In Florida.
Hi'.ana. Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee anTj
1 turoluia advances were made and converts won
I nr the lost two and a half years she has' devoted
- t:m to the cause. Calls are made to her from all
! of Vm country; hundreds of letters are continually
x rci civtl from temperance societies asking her ad-
s r ignis ner patties. i : arK5a - i I
ill-
THE OREGON
." '.: J- utr IN r I-. IN ' I -: in I, . V I U -II - I 1
MMMK. S - ' W - k 1 11 1 I ll 1 1 ' I . If I II ' ' ill . I
- j ) i
' ' I . U . III I 1 Kl
vice. From Australia and New Zealand, wher. th. tem
perance movement has spread, people write and ask her
tp tell bow Georgia went dry, r , r
Mrs. Armor Is now 45 year. old. It was twenty-two
year, ago when she began ber career.
"My first temperance speech it was delivered without
forethought I had no Idea of doing such a thing flv.
minute, before," Mrs. Armor' declared. "It was at th
Old Liberty Church in Green county, Georgia. This is a
large country church, and It is the custom in the South
for Sunday school olaases from all part, of th. county
to meet for religious celebrations.
A nma uwi. uij uuauuu, v,u tun, u iw w
at temperance lecture bv a well-known sneaker. Rut
rrea
ha 6
ne cuun i iurn up. wi
of the Sunday school
tZZ? tl" peaker
didn't turn up. While sitting there the superintendent
cam. up 10 me ana saia: 'Mrs.
hasn't come. We want ' you to
speax.'
AN INSPIRATION
"I turned to him, Tou're craxy,' I .aid. 1 don't have
s speech.' Then th. preacher joined him. There were
5?y,rLhun',',;L Pern there and they Insisted that I
make the speech.
' f11' maintained that I couldn't, and so they left
me. Then the thought cam that perhaps I was turninr
back from what God wanted me to do, so I said: 'Lord,
u you want me to make the speech send the preacher
back to me.' I knew He would if He wanted me to do so.
Xl11- e minutes tho preacher came down the aisle.
H. stopped and asked me again. - .
,Hi!M1r,!,bw,Atad'lnw heard woman .peak In
public. I turned to my husband and asked him what I
should do. 'Tes, go on ' he said. So I went up and
spoke. It seemed someth ng came over me. I didn't have
tfme to.thlnk anything out beforehand, but I know the
f,Pech I made was as good as any I ever made In my
JyThople were enthusiasUc, and after that I-had
Before she started ber "whirlwind campaign- several
TZZZ 0 thV temperance
1 Joined everv temneranr.o aui r .!
clared. "When my father died I oledied mvneiV ZL
JJJiatb to a vew science m tha lanA.
ogy. Ever heard of it?
It means reading character by a stndv
of the feet; itb kind of first cousin
maybe a closer relation -to" palmistry. 1
' J-eaologys philosophy teaches that, to the
'.0i?tin aa mv. oeefrth be better
suirmied up ant , in .some instance, found van '
wougn uift leaturcs'''of hia feet than - Z
W - A M I 1 V' I-" ::rf ) Vr : V
-.! ft mbm M M ml Im ? m' - 'mimmm. iemkmt
y fy ' """ " jV J- i
SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY
lay down an arm in fay fight against rum. ' But 1 de
cided I would not talk until all bitterness had passed out 1
Ot my heart.'' ' - 4, .i,,,..
Back of every great work lie. some personal cause
, some great incentive. What inspired lira, Armor with a
hatred of drink? What cau.ed her to go heart and .out
into the anti-liquor crusade? About this the little woman
'.hesitates to apeak '
"Thero was a tragedy In my life," sbe said, in re.
sponse to the question, and her eye. filled with tears.
"No person hcted Uquor worse than my father. He wa.
an intelligent man, a wonderfully brilliant man, yet he
died In the prime of life.
. ."In the South many men take toddy, and when my
father took it he was miserable. All hi. children were '
brought up as Christians: all bis sons became clergy'
men; all hi. daughter, married Christian men. Tet both
my father and mother suffered what ten thousand times
ten thousand suffer. That 1. why I am against liquor." '
As she spoke of her father, , this woman who has
fearlessly faced packed meetings ot threatening antag
onistssobbed. ", , -. , .. -.77
''For year. I engaged In- missionary work. My father '
died when I wa. 18, and I taught publlo school for three
years. I hated liquor. I hated the liquor dealers. I felt
such awful, bitterness in my soul that I could not talki
I did not trust myself to talk until God had taken the
bitterness out of my heart. j : , ,
"I decided not, to raise my arm In the fight until I
changed so I should be willing to save the barkeeper as
well as the victim. I hat. the Infamous business, but I
no longer hate the men in It. It was a struggle, when I
thought of what I suffered, what many others suffered. '
or A"?1? year, after my father died I did not
mention the tr&gedy-but now I am free to go out and
say what I please. -What irl suffer? Some one must w
bleed or the world will diel Vhat am I, who am I, that
LSn?-uldn.ml?ivBuft?rJn.slv M' ther dIe1 ln the prima
of life. That thought burns and burns and bums." .
-mm r h7,0rn w Ja Peunfield, , Ga. When a
child her famlly moved to Green borough. : She was '
raised a Presbvterlun tint lati ima v.. vt.w-j,..
nlL.' Ml ,wa" tn first woman to start a Woman's -Foreign
Missionary Society to Georgia. '
As a child of 4 years she; recited, and.' after Joining
... ...... -I, Tr- -rr . ,-, . . - 'f fc
through the lines of his palm, his face or other
r visible characteristics. , .
BEJKft,eao,0I c!?irB ,n th. idea one gets
by slightly paraphrasing one of Shakespeare's
often quoted expressions: Ther a divinity
" ulav ' pe ournd"' hoe them asrwe
ctf?5poruSS ofBBfTde?nh,l.'nctoulntt?y,le.
fca n England, but its -popularity Vrow the sea"
.hZltiZ wu be raging here In
CORNING, APRIL 26, I9C3
the Methodist Church, testified at experience meetings.
She never experienced the least embarrassment when
speaking; in fact, ber gift was hereditary. , For genera
tions her forbears bad possessed no little pt the ora
torical faculty. .-.-.;,; . , '
When Jennie Hart Sibley was compelled to retire be-
' cause of illness, Mrs, Armor was elected bead of the
, Georgia White Rlbboners. This was several years after
ber debut at the country rally.
''The first campaign In which X took part was In
Taliaferro county," Mrs. Armor tells you. "My brother,
the Rev. R. B. U Harris, led the fight. We got local
option in Georgia in 1881, and one by one the counties ;
went dry. Every four years there was an election, and ,
the campaign was educational. , . , : , .
IN GREAT DANGER
"In Taliaferro county there were three hegroe. to '
one white man. They knew nothing but whisky. The
purchasable vote was so great we knew the best we
could do was to educate them and try to open their eyes.
This first campaign lasted two weeks and welL we at- '
most carried the county ; , ; . ' , ? -r . - .
; "A meeting was. planned In a far corner of the county j
on. of the most'excltlng of my career, people went
that night by the hundreds. A woman had never spoken
In Georgia and It was a great sensation. '
"The liquor men sent to Atlanta for negroes. They '
parked the church where the meeting was to be held,
and when my brother and I got there the barkeepers sat
on the front bench. They had captured the meeting. "I
felt that my life was ln God', hands. :
''As we drove through the dark woods to the church .
we knew something was up;-I knew my enemies were not
too good to kill me. But we went on. Nearly all those -in
the church were drunk. A liquor man was ln the '
chair.
v ' A leading London detective asserts that from' long
and careful observation he has found that almost every ?
thief Is a quick walker,' His ehort and rapid steps
it idl kUv iL V4 'ton that possesses him
S.ri.-JJ!.'8.11 enr"? aas. From long ex
K h"s walk. T lare" can pIck out a tnlef '
i-.fPiJceISr,tle- hwn abovo, applying to them
the learning of an. expert In pledology. Can we note
cb1TTt5rla"c Plcal of the owner?
i lnsiance, tne feet of President Boose-
ZfXat Pech- Energy, lntonseness ot
purpose, toreefulnesa ot expression all are shown by
. "My brother went up and told him the meeting wa
- ours. 'It's our meeting,' he said. WeU,' my brother said,
. 'since you've got ahead ot us you might let us talk.'
" 'Ton caa speak,' be said to me. Til speak last, I
. said, 'How long do you want to -talk? he asked. 'An
hour,' I replied. X thought it would be little use, but we
- waited, and finally I got up. I felt my lite was In 'God's
.hand, and I said to them. Tou shall bear the gospel
tonight if you never bear It again.' ; ; ' -
aTAnd they got it red-hot We bad to drive fourteen
miles that night back to the county seat through a dark ,
country. But God protected usr- 7
., "The last night before election the liquor men sur-
' rounded a schoolhouse where I spoke. They were armed ,
with revolvers and had brought barrels of whisky for the
negroes. They were desperate. I realised the situation,,
and when I got on the platform I said to myself: They
can't kill me unless God lets them. And it were killed
the county would go dry tomorrow. . - ' .
"The danger gave me inspiration. That night the '
. liquor men got lost ln the woods, and on the morrow the
negroes voted the dry ticket That precinct went dry."
Strangely Mrs. Armor waa never attacked or in-
suited during her work; On many occasions liquor men
congratulated her. , "I took care alwaya to say the
things X could prove and the liquor men never slandered
Inio'the worst mining districts of Alabama Mrs. Ar"
mor carried ber slogan. 7It wa. a place where the men
went armed, where a minister had been shot In bis study
and women were in danger of their Uvea The Old
Scratch Is there, I was told. 'Be careful. Well, after
I left the liquor men wanted me to come back and prom
ised to pack the biggest hall in the place." -
Most dramatlo was Mrs. Armor', plea before the
Georgia Legislature for state prohibition last July.
Many Georgian, declare It was thl. speech that won the
day, for two week, later the bill was passed. .
Mrs. Armor is the mother of four children, of whom.
she Is extremely proud. The youngest, a girl of 12. is at
her home. Another daughter nd two sons are at school.
. All of her children were converted and Joined church be
fore they were 7 years of age. Mrs. Armor's husband
is a farmer. He Is superintendent of the Methodist Sun
day school at Eastman and president-of the Board of
8iewarda !-"-' Yl '' --r :. '.o ; . - .
At home '. Mrs, ;j Armor never, spends an Idle minute.
She is a capable housekeeper; can cook and sew and
likes poetry. She keeps up with the daily news an reg-
ularly reads tha Congressional Record. Klisabeth Bar
tett Browning In her favorite poetess. Of novelists she .
favors George MacDonald, Walter Scott and Bulwer. 1
She gets regularly all the liquor dealers' organ, and daily
reads the 'Bible." v'
"I operate a typewriter," she says. "My mall got so
great I had to take It up. In one week I was able to
write faster than with a pen. ' I can do anything I un
dertake. I am afraid, of nothing; only I fear at time ;
I may not measure up to what is expected of me."
the Indication of the body poise. , - , r
v r He is undoubtedly reaching forward to drive some'
.' thought home, he is hurling words at his listeners like 4
Shot from a Gatling gun.
For some reason most clergymen toe inward. Here :
we see a photograph of the feet of Bishop Potter, of
New York, as he is descending a stairway; he Is toe-
log inward. ,
-"A marked turning' In ef the toes," says -the ex
pert, "the general shallowness of the feet show a'
gentleness of character. Such a man usually Is affec
tionate and fond of home life." v, ......
Admiral Dewey's, feet are small; those of General
Fred D. Grant not large. They may be takeu as types
of the navy and army.
Si