READ BY MRS. ZILLAH FOSTER STEVENS, SUPT.

Down on his knees, close to the ground, a fruit-grower worked at the trunk of a young apple-tree. His hand guided a wire that probed a tiny tunnel, the track of a worm that was boring its way into the vitals of the tree. Patiently that searching wire followed the course of the worm, till it found him, dragged him forth, and ended his career of destruction. Next a coat of protecting tar covered puncture, crack and crevice.

"That must be miserably hard, unpleasant work," of the onlooker.

But the fruit-grower smiled as he replied:

was the comment

"In my mind is a picture of the way this young apple-tree is going to look when it is grown and full of perfect fruit. No work is unpleas ant that makes that picture come true. But there is no chance-no chance at all-for this picture to come true, unless exactly this sort of work is done. The worms are after this tree. My wire is needed to get rid of the worms that have bored their way into the trunk. My tar is needed to make exposed places worm-proof. But the picture in my

mind, you know-that picture of the tree perfect and fruitful-makes me glad to do this work. And no work pays better."

Dear friends, that plain man doing his plain work in his plain way, faithfully images the spirit, the aim, and the methods of the Sunday School at work through its Temperance Department.

Look at a map of North America, our great International Sunday School Garden. See that map brightened with more than 173,000 stars, -the 173,000 Sunday Schools that bless humanity with the blessings Christ brought to the world. Bespatter that map with black blots far outnumbering the bright stars; blot it thick; for these black spots mean the saloons of North America, and their presence on that map means: "No chance, no chance at all" for child-life to fulfill God's plan of fruitfulness until the Sunday School, because of its vision, shall accept this two-fold work:

First, by temperance teaching, make childhood temptation-proof.

Second, get rid of the destroyers. Remove those myriads of black blots from the map of the International garden.

Exactly that sort of work the International Sunday School Association has undertaken through its temperance department. And because the cigaret has proved itself another destroyer ranking close to alcohol in its work of destruction, and because there are still other destroyers which blight and weaken and ruin, the International Sunday School Association has adopted and is seeking to accomplish the following:

1.

Temperance Department Aims.

Temperance Education-Educate every Sunday-School member for (a)

(b)

Total abstinence.

The destruction of the liquor traffic. (c) The extinction of the cigarette habit.

(d) The surrender of every self-indulgence which impairs or destroys the power to give service to God or to man.

2. Regular Time for Temperance Teaching.

(a)

Observe all appointed quarterly Temperance Sundays. (b) (Special) Anti-Cigarette Day-Temperance Sunday of the second quarter.

(c)

(Special) World's Temperance Sunday-The fourth Sunday in November, to be emphasized as Christian Citizenship Day.

3. Organization-A Temperance Department in every Sunday-School, conducted by a Temperance Superintendent. 4. Pledge Signing-Enroll every Sunday-School member of proper age as a pledge-signer.

The International Pledge reads:

"That I may give my best service to God and to my fellowmen, I promise God and pledge myself never to use intoxicating liquors as a drink and to do all I can to end the drink habit and the liquor traffic.'

The Anti-Cigarette Pledge reads:

"In the cause of Freedom from Enslaving Habits, for the sake of Strength and Purity of Character, I pledge myself to abstain from the use of Cigarettes and to do all I can to end the Cigarette habit among others."

This Anti-Cigaret Pledge was made necessary by the claims of growing anti-cigaret work. In May, 1909, a double pledge-card was issued at the International office, bearing on one side the pledge against liquor and the liquor traffic; and on the reverse side the pledge against cigarets.

The appearance of this double pledge was warmly welcomed, and widely heralded by the great temperance organizations of the world. The National Temperance Society and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union issued similar pledges-either liquor, or cigaret, or bothfor use by their great societies. This double pledge was accepted as tangible proof that the International Sunday School Association was definitely committed to the work of regular, systematic and effective temperance education,-education not only for total abstinence, but for active effort against the liquor traffic and the cigaret habit.

Correspondence.

The aim of the correspondence of your Secretary has been three-fold: 1. To arouse Sunday School workers to a realization of the vital reed of temperance education.

2. To acquaint Sunday School workers with methods and materials for temperance teaching.

3. To assist with suggestions and replies those who wrote making special inquiries.

The results of such correspondence have been most encouraging as indicated by the following:

1. Temperance Sections in the Association papers have been presenting methods and lists of helpful literature, supplying up-to-date facts on the temperance question, giving complete temperance programs.

2. Conventions, state, provincial, county and township, also schools of methods and institutes, have made place on their programs for praetical presentations of Temperance Department work.

3. Temperance Departments have been organized in more than sixty states, provinces and territories. Subordinate temperance departments are numerous in counties and townships.

Correspondence with Editors and Lesson Writers.

The Sunday School editor and the Sunday School lesson writer are the strongest possible allies in the cause of temperance teaching. There is no disputing the fact that the bulk of the teaching given in our Sunday Schools is a reflection of the lesson treatment found in our Sunday School helps. From many sources came the expressed wish that our Sunday School publications would furnish stronger treatment of the

Temperance Lessons. Correspondence to a limited extent was undertaken to meet this need. Every editor so addressed responded most cordially.

Temperance Post-Cards.

The approach of each Temperance Sunday brings to our Temperance Department a volume of correspondence. Three inquiries are constantly repeated by multitudes:

1. "What is the main practical temperance truth in the Scripture selection assigned for this lesson?''

2. "Where can we find up-to-date facts which will illustrate this truth in a practical and interesting way?''

3. "Where can we get pledge-cards?''

Each letter is an opportunity to furnish needed help, yet to answer each individually is impossible. Accordingly post-cards have been prepared each quarter, containing answers to these three groups of questions. The cordial reception accorded these post-cards proved that in some degree they meet a need and furnish help.

Needs of the Temperance Department.

1. The need of a temperance field worker is the need most often expressed. State, provincial and county conventions, summer schools and institutes, Sunday School gatherings great and small continually ask for a special worker to present the Temperance Department's aims and methods from the platform. Temperance department work will never be done with thoroughness, completeness and success, until its leadership equals in ability and working capacity the leadership enjoyed by other Sunday School departments.

2. Leaflets on temperance department work are indispensable to successful work. One reason for their non-appearance is the physical handicap of your present Secretary.

One of the gratifying results of our work has been the establishing and maintaining of cordial and harmonious working relations with our temperance allies in the great temperance organizations. Most generous have been the donations of valuable books, leaflets, etc., from many of these organizations. Because of this generosity your Secretary has been able to supply multitudes of Sunday School workers with up-to-date facts contained in printed matter supplied without money and without price. Hundreds of splendid anti-cigaret booklets were circulated among Sunday School workers,-a gift from the National Anti-Cigaret League. The Reform Bureau at Washington supplied copies of World Book of Temperance, while the Woman's Christian

Temperance Union, The Prohibition Brothers, the Anti-Saloon League. the Inter-Church Temperance Federation, the Scientific Temperance Federation, the American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, these and others have coöperated with us beautifully.

Character

No longer do we put the emphasis on "reforming." formation rather than character reformation is now the aim. No longer are we satisfied with a temperance teaching that merely dangles frightful warnings before the eyes of startled childhood, or fastens a few arbitrary rules of conduct upon the memory. These warnings and these rules are needed; they are warranted by our temperance text-book, the Bible. But the warnings and rules are not sufficient.

The temperance teaching of our new ideals places the emphasis not on the prescribing of rules, but on the planting of principles, and upon the developing of qualities of character; noble qualities such as selfcontrol, self-denial, steadfastness, purity, watchfulness, independence, decision of character, moral courage and heroism. But above all, love and loyalty to God, love and loyalty to humanity are the two parent principles from whose holy union springs the special virtue of temper

ance.

By such character-building the Temperance Department aims to perform its share of Sunday School work, doing the will of our Father who is in heaven; whose expressed will it is that "not one of these little ones should perish."

TEMPERANCE IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

MRS. ZILLAH FOSTER STEVENS, ALTON, ILL.

When I look at you I see back of you the childhood of North America and I ask you to think what intemperance in every form means to childhood like this (pointing to a little girl by her side who was holding a rose). Who knows what the future of this little flower will be? Who knows whether it will be a blight or a blessing? And if it is blighted through the liquor traffic and through the liquor habit we are not free from reproach unless we use every effort to save the childhood of this country from the crime against childhood.

There was a little girl called "Sunshine." Her mother lived in such darkness and despair that when she was born she named her Sunshine. When another little girl was born she named her Twinkle, and there was a little boy and his name was Happy-go-lucky. They all came to the Sunday-school I attended. The mother earned her living by wash