- Officers of the World’s Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Left to Right: Anna Gordon, Assistant Secretary; Agnes Slack, Secretary; Frances E. Willard, President; Lady Somerset, Vice President at Large; Mary Sanderson, Treasurer. Often thought of as a handful of elderly fanatics, the WCTU was in fact among the top few groups of social and political influence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Flourished chiefly under the dynamic and legendary leadership of Frances Willard (1839–1898). Although best Page 14 →known for its concern over the moral and physical effects of alcohol and drugs, the WCTU’s interests and activities extended to every sphere of social reform. They accomplished much for woman’s suffrage, education for the poor, and labor reform. A large part of their complaint against the liquor industries included the money and manpower which booze tycoons poured into anti-suffrage campaigns for decades; and the saloons which were male preserves where poor laborers spent their week’s pay on escaping in drinks instead of feeding their families. For these reasons, the famed “Polyglot Petition” for world temperance easily collected more than 7 million signatures.
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