The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 102, July 1998 - April, 1999 Page: 52
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
sporadic and usually unsuccessful. Willard's visit galvanized the temper-
ance forces, and elections were called all across the state in the weeks
during and following her tour. In some communities her visit coincided
with the campaign, and she took an active role. In other places her lec-
tures, and the press reports of them, sparked an effort to vote out liquor.
The Texas Tribune of Paris reported that the local option election sched-
uled for Marshall was "of course the result of Miss Willard's address at
that place." But while Willard was able to address the issue of prohibi-
tion without generating a great deal of hostility, the local campaigns
brought to the surface deep divisions regarding the issue. Accusations of
fanaticism and political opportunism were made on both sides. Newspa-
per editors entered the fray, or else tried to remain aloof and inoffensive
with studied irresolution. The Fort Worth Daily Democrat-Advance was a
typical case. Its editors took a cautious approach to local option, suggest-
ing that the issue be postponed until the fall elections. In the same issue
the paper came out foursquare against the sale of oleomargarine, de-
manding that the "poisonous article" be "banished by law from the mar-
kets." The newly formed W.C.T.U. locals were active and outspoken in
the campaigns, often forgetting the virtues of Willard's generous tone.
When Mrs. McPherson, a reporter for the Sherman Democrat, opposed
local option, the editor of the Democrat-Advance quipped that the local
W.C.T.U. should "tackle" her. A Fort Worth W.C.T.U. member took the
bait, replying that "the best thing to tackle any woman who advocates
the whiskey traffic is a drunken husband." Agitation for the cause be-
came so pervasive that one Fort Worth saloon keeper renamed his estab-
lishment in its honor. "While some people are worrying themselves
about how to prevent men from drinking, others are inquiring where
the finest wines, the purest liquors and the best cigars may be found and
enjoyed," he noted. "Such men are always directed to the princely Local
Option Saloon." Despite the unprecedented attention to the issue, most
of the elections in the weeks immediately following Willard's visit re-
turned large majorities for continued licensing of saloons. Willard had
energized many who supported the temperance cause, and impressed a
great number with her intelligence and conviction, but she had not im-
mediately converted the state wholesale on the issue of statutory prohibi-
tion. Nevertheless, the agitation for local option continued, and within
three years of her visit, scores of local option elections were held in com-
munities throughout the state. Moreover, in 1886 the state legislature
was pressured to submit a statewide prohibition amendment. The Texas
Carolina, 1896-92o (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996), esp. 46-56; and
Anastatia Sims, The Power of Femininity in the New South: Women's Organzzations and Politics an North
Carolina, 188o-193o (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997).July
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 102, July 1998 - April, 1999, periodical, 1999; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101219/m1/77/?q=%22oil-gas%22: accessed July 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State Historical Association.