Saturday, October 09, 2010

Women's Temperance Literature



Just when I thought I might be tentatively liking  book sales again the one last night roundly disadvised me of the notion. The crowd was actually down a good bit, but the high drama was definitely not. Histrionics abounded which meant I was in and out the door in under twenty minutes and that included a chat with the benevolent Queen of the Book Sale who shared my displeasure. I bought 58 Agatha Christies in the black covers, a set of the Oxford dictionaries in the slipcase with  the magnifying glass, and four other books, none of which I’m terribly excited about. I will not bore you with the tiresome details, but offer instead one observation and then I will move on to a more pleasant topic. As I looked around the room it occurred to me with a sudden jolt that local library patrons were scarcer than quality books. I mentioned this to the Queen and she agreed that it was so.  


Apparently, they can’t tolerate it any better than we can. Sad, isn’t it, that the local community whose tax dollars fund the library can’t enjoy the book sale.

Anyway, I want to show you some fascinating magazines I bought not long ago (not at a book sale) and haven’t had time to examine until now. They’re called The Ohio Messenger and there are seventeen of them, all chronicling the women’s temperance movement in the state from 1911 to 1940. I had never seen this publication before and copies are very scarce online  -- I only found two from 1925 which probably is due to the newspaper–like quality of the paper on which it’s printed. It’s not newsprint – it’s coated – but it’s thin and easily torn and probably just as easily tossed as one would toss the daily hometown paper. The magazines were published of course by the  Ohio Chapter of  the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union which, interestingly, got it’s start right here in the Buckeye State in the 1870’s. I know in the beginning they refused membership to Catholic, Jewish, or African American women, so am hoping I can find out if that had changed by 1911.

The temperance movement in the U.S. is a very collectible topic, especially in the early days, but clear through to the repeal of Prohibition. This of course makes the latest of my issues much less valuable, but nonetheless interesting if only because as late as 1941 there were still 216,843 card-carrying members nationwide. Believe it or not – I was bowled over by this one – there were actually 50,000 members  as late as 1989! Of course  the WCTU didn’t just concern itself with King Alcohol or the Demon Rum in later years. It served up an entire buffet of moral issues, including the playing of golf on Sunday, so members might have joined for reasons other than the obvious alcohol issue.  

Paging through the early magazines, especially the one from 1911, is like watching a mental movie. A phalanx of zealous women rallying in the streets, banners waving, long skirts swishing as they march down the middle of the street fierce and proud. Fiery rhetoric shooting orange flames to the sky.  Bands filling the air with hymns (maybe Onward Christian Soldiers).  And voices ringing out with chants, emphatic agreements, and ditties penned to the tune of well known songs. In Portsmouth, Ohio they actually sang  an entire song to the tune of Yankee Doodle. The first couple stanzas glorified  the town for its efforts, but this middle one creatively combined  temperance with suffrage:
                                     
                                              We want a chance to vote it down.
                                              Some men think that is shocking
                                              But til they get us equal rights
                                              We’ll just keep on a talking!

In those  early years these women came loaded as guns with zeal and righteous indignation. They may not have had the vote, but they displayed remarkable political acumen and command  of  the language, as evidenced by the caliber of the articles published. But by 1940 the timbre had changed significantly. Men had been been granted membership privileges and the moral issues extended to the availability of “obscene” literature in public libraries, “debasing moving pictures,” deceptive radio advertising, political graft, and injustices “of all kinds”. Instead of inspiring admiration, even from a wine sipper like me,  it all sounds rather prissy.


The WCTU had lost its juice. 

P.S. I have no idea why the size of this type either wants to shrink or expand to fill the room, but there you have it. More glitches I guess. Hope you can read it!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Once again, you've inspired a future post. I have an old University of Kansas yearbook that gives us an interesting glimpse into what life may have been like for the African American student at the time. Your Women's Temperance Magazines are one thing a scanner certainly couldn't compute. Keep up the great old school scouting:)

tess said...

I would love to read that. Definitely share the yearbook -- that's the kind of quirky thing I live for! Looking forward to it and glad I provided a little inspiration. You did likewise with the inscription one, so it's nice to return the favor!