Malcolm H. Clark, Jr.

“ The Crusade, until now uncertainly and imperfectly assembled, was riveted by burning determination into a tireless and efficient war machine, with the destruction of the Webfoot Saloon as its first objective. Other establishments would be invaded, other barkeeps assaulted by song and prayer, but upon Walter Moffett would be visited the full fury of the petticoat revolution. ”

“ In the court room itself a heavy percentage of the on lookers were women, grim and indomitable, all of them following the proceedings with a savage intensity that bore down upon judge and jury like a leaden weight.
Mr. Mulkey opened with the remark that the defendants, being women, were not accountable beings, a bit of bile which caused heartburnings in more than one feminist breast. Governor Gibbs, when his time came, sharply cross-examined Walter Moffett about the two gongs and the hand organ—a line of question that discomfited supporters of The Trade. ”

“ And so it was that the next afternoon a little band of twelve issued bravely forth from Taylor Street to do battle with Demon Rum.
It happens not infrequently in war that decisive battles are fought at points remote from the main current of the conflict. ”

“ There they were set upon by a number of low fellows who beat gongs in their faces and threw firecrackers under their feet. The Crusaders were unimpressed. But the mob of onlookers grew ugly and the police, fearing violence, persuaded the ladies to disperse.
For the next few days the action moved elsewhere, though there was a brief encounter on the fifth, and the Webfoot's proprietor and patrons enjoyed comparative peace. But at ten-thirty on the morning of April 7 the Leaguers appeared in force, some fifteen strong. ”

“ To begin with, then, we are rejoiced to see something started which will bring the women to the knowledge they can deviate from long-established customs without bringing down the heavens upon their heads. Thousands and tens of thousands of them will blockade sidewalks, interfere with municipal ordinances, sing and pray in the most public places to be seen of men, and by this means be awakened to a realizing sense of their political duties. [2]
Once launched, the Great Crusade scudded away before a gale of windy oratory. ”

“ In thus wise the duel continued until four o'clock, when the Leaguers withdrew. During a short lull in the proceedings one of them, tears in her eyes, asked Moffett why he persisted in acting so. He replied stoutly that he was an educated man; that he attended to his own business and urged others to do the same ”

“ We have all along rejoiced in your work, not because we believe the saloons of Portland would tremble under it ... [but] because we saw that your failure ... would open your eyes to the power of the ballot. [11]
After which parting blast she climbed aboard her suffragette hobby-horse and galloped noisily off in search of new dragons, preferably male. The Great Crusade was over. But there remains a casualty to report. As the months passed, Walter Moffett grew wan and weak. His eye lost its lustre, his step its spring. ”

“ Heated by these pious flames, the new movement quickly raised a formidable head of steam. On the sixteenth the Women's Temperance Prayer League was formally organized. Headquarters were set up in the Taylor Street Methodist Church and plans were made to hold afternoon and evening meetings daily from that moment forward. On March 18 the League issued a public appeal to saloon-keepers, urging them to shut up shop. The same day an abstinence pledge was drawn up and put into circulation. By the
Rev. ”