PATERSON
The
response to the efforts of the New York Washingtonians was rapid. The
"friends of temperance" in Paterson met in the Second Baptist
Church on 16 April and that "The Committee appointed to wait on
the Delegation from Baltimore," report that "they are now
in Boston" (6). (1) Among these "friends of temperance"
were Joseph Perry (Schoolteacher) and Alex H. Freeman (sheet metal and
stoves), both of whom were later active in the organization of the Washingtonians
in Paterson. (2) The senior partner and editor of the Paterson intelligencer,
D.H. Day, who was sympathetic to the cause, seized the opportunity to
keep interest alive by reprinting an article from the Boston Journal
which described, in glowing terms, the visit of the Baltimore delegation
(7): "Our friends in the country will be rejoiced to know that
there never has existed so much healthy excitement on the subject of
temperance, in our city, as at the present moment. - Meetings are held
every evening and are crowded to overflowing," it reported. "The
mass of people listen with breathless attention to the speakers, and
every man goes away with a new zeal in the prosecution of the holy enterprise...Mr.
Hawkins, at the Bethel [North Square, Boston] spoke for one hour with
tremendous power, and carried his audience captive at his will. Now
a deep and solemn silence pervaded the house; now was heard the hushed
sob; and now again the outpouring of acclamation, like a cataract's
roar. Mr. Wright spoke with more interest and power than he had yet
done in our city; and this saying much. After his address four hundred
and fifteen came forward and signed the pledge!” So it is no surprise
that when Hawkins and Wright (2 of the original Baltimore delegation
to New York City), along with several speakers from the New York Washington
Temperance Benevolent Society, conducted a series of meetings in Paterson
that May they were well received. The Paterson Intelligenc6r commented
(8) the "the lectures had formerly been, according to their own
statements, drunkards of the worst sort, and the accounts they gave
of their own sufferings, and the sufferings of their families, were
painful beyond description. Their lectures were strictly practical,
and therefore had a greater effect upon the minds of the hearers than
all the temperance addresses by persons who knew nothing of the subject
from experience" As a consequence, 300 people signed the Washingtonian
pledge; on 10 May the Paterson Washington Temperance Benevolent Society
was formed by 30 of those who had signed the pledge, using both the
name of the New York Society and its constitution (9). ("Temperance
Benevolent" was the New York style, in contrast with Baltimore's
"Temperance" and Boston's "Total Abstinence.") The
Paterson Intelligencer (8), in its comments on the initial formative
meetings in Paterson observed that "The ardor of the new fledged
total abstinence is truly exhilarating; it seems to them that nothing
has hitherto been done in the glorious cause; instead of opposing, as
hitherto, they now will take the lead, and as old soldiers turn aside,
as a relieved corps, they will go on to certain victory." Ultimately,
the "old soldiers" found this enthusiasm a source of irritation
as well as satisfaction, because the temperance-prohibitionists had
been "labouring in the vineyard" for a long time and wanted
what they regarded as their justly deserved reward of community recognition.
At the time, however, all were caught up in a glowing and expansive
enthusiasm that is evidenced in the report from Paterson printed in
the Newark Daily Advertiser of 1 July 1841: "We have known many
plans devised for the prosperity and improvement of our towns; laws
enacted, companies formed, and new projects to facilitate business carried
out - but they all sink into insignificance, both in moral and pecuniary
point of view, by the side of the work we are now speaking of."
Such dynamism and exaggerated expectations are not atypical of movements
for social change in their early growth periods.
In
its original form, the Baltimore Washingtonian pledge read as follows
(4): "We, whose names are annexed, desirous of forming a society
for our mutual benefit, and to guard against a pernicious practice,
which is injurious to our health, standing and families we do pledge
ourselves as gentlemen, not to drink any spirituous or malt liquors,
wine or cider." The pledge used by the New York and Paterson societies
reflected the influence of the temperance prohibitionists (10): "We,
whose names are hereunto annexed, believing that the use of Intoxicating
Liquors as a beverage, is not only needless, but hurtful to the social,
civil and religious interests of men - that it tends to form intemperate
habits - and that while it is continued, the evils of intemperance will
never be done away - do, therefore , pledge ourselves that we will not
drink any spirituous or malt liquor, wine or cider, and that in all
suitable ways we will discountenance the use of them through the community."
While this pledge seemed to support nonpolitical moral suasion (the
Washingtonian position) its wording also provided the opening wedge
for an explicit legal suasion - prohibitionist position.
The
same dynamism that galvanized the Baltimoreans, the New Yorkers and
the Bostonians was immediately evident in Paterson. During the first
quarter-year, the Paterson Washingtonians conducted 9 mission meetings,
which led to the formation of 3 new societies in nearby communities.
We know the name of only 1 of these, the Manchester Washington Temperance
Benevolent Society, which continued through the years to have a close
relationship with the Paterson group. Their activity increased during
the second quarter, when 39 mission meetings were held, and continued
at least to the middle of June 1842, when delegates were sent to towns
in Rockland County, New York, some 20 miles away. Street meetings were
held from time to time in Paterson during the same period. A special
delegation was even sent to "Cheap Josey's," a tavern "situated
between Paterson and Bloomfield ... where shoemakers, tailors, pacemakers,
cotton and woolen factory boys, and farmers, met together to drink,
gamble and fight" (11,p.5).
This
dynamism was also manifested in the personal lives of the artisans and
workingmen who signed the pledge and joined the Washingtonians. For
instance, John Broughton, a tailor, advertised that he had taken the
pledge of "total abstinence from all that intoxicates and in consequence
am restored to my sober senses again," and he appealed to his fellow
townsmen to give him their "confidence and esteem as a consequence
of his constant and sober application to his craft"(12).
The
enthusiasm was also evidenced organizationally. By 23 June 1841, there
was a [Boys] Juvenile Washington Temperance Benevolent Society of 50
members (13), who recited the following form of the pledge:
A
pledge we make, by drinking gin; No wine to take, hard cider, too nor
brandy, red, Will never do. To turn the head, nor brewer's beer, nor
whiskey hot, Our hearts to cheer, That makes the sot, O quench our thirst,
we always bring Nor fiery rum, Cold water, from the well or spring.
That ruins home; so here we pledge perpetual hate. Nor will we sin,
to all that can intoxicate.(3)
The
junior society had about 130 members by the time of the Independence
Day celebration. The Fourth of July was a time of special significance
to the Washingtonians because in the past it had been the occasion for
drunken sprees which disrupted the annual civic parades and embarrassed
the respectable citizenry who saw it as a quasi-religious occasion for
rededication to freedom and morality. Thus the Independence Day celebration
in 1841 was different from previous ones; in the morning the town's
Sunday school students paraded, and in the afternoon members of the
Paterson Washington Temperance Benevolent Society marched in procession
to the Congregational Methodist Church and were presented with a banner
by the women church members which read "Total Abstinence from all
that Intoxicates." They proceeded to what is now known as Totowa
and then to an island in the Passaic River where they heard orations,
most of which were by local ministers and ministers from New York (who,
we may infer, were temperance-prohibitionists). The brass band of the
Passaic Guards, a local voluntary militia group, played music. After
a collation, the group met in the Second Presbyterian Church, where
some Washingtonian experience speeches were given and some pledges were
taken. The Washingtonians were, of course, celebrating their freedom
from bondage to alcohol; the temperance-prohibitionist preachers were
exhorting their listeners to free the country from its bondage to the
rum sellers and rum makers; the contrast with past Independence Day
celebrations was stark indeed!
Another
sign of vitality was the existence of an active relief committee. The
society's constitution provided that when they found a "poor drunkard
in distress, from poverty, and unable to provide for his immediate necessities,
to furnish him with food, raiment and shelter, or any of them, at his
own discretion or if need be, with medicine and medical advice, provided
always, that such relief shall in no case be granted unless there be
reasonable grounds to believe that such poor drunkard will sign the
pledge and reform...11 (10, Art.VI). The relief committee was active
in the town although its actual cash resources were very limited. It's
work was supplemented by that of the Martha Washington Temperance Benevolent
Society, which in the quarter ending 3 August 1842 handed out $7.72
in cash, 23 articles of clothing and sundry provisions to families of
reformed inebriates. The first directress at that time was the wife
of Joseph Perry, the school-teacher who was also active as a temperance-prohibitionist.
By
mid September 1841, the Paterson Washingtonians felt strong enough to
call for a countrywide mass temperance meeting. The meeting was held
on 19 November; had there not been a snowfall of several inches, the
Martha Washingtonians of Paterson would have marched in the procession
under their banner with a slogan that made their position quite clear:
"Total abstinence or no husband! 11 Forty years later, the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union used a similar slogan: "Lips that touch
wine will never touch mine."
Finally,
membership and financial data give us an additional assessment of the
strength of the Paterson Washingtonian society in its formative period,
although it is certainly not a clear one. By the end of the first quarter
year of its existence, the Paterson society had 290 members and had
gotten 1245 pledges, including 230 from the junior society. During the
second quarter, the recording secretary claimed that 504 had joined
the society, making a total of 1730 members. (4)These membership statistics
must be viewed with caution because it seems probable that the distinction
between members of the Paterson society and those who had signed the
society's pledge had been obfuscated; it seems more likely that the
504 reported new members were those who had signed the pledge during
the quarter and that 1730 was the total number of persons who had signed
the pledge up to that time. Later data supported this interpretation:
in March 1842 it was reported that the Paterson society had 2572 members;
during the ensuing week 77 persons signed the pledge, and there was
then a report of 2649 members. This confusion makes it impossible to
assess the significance of membership statistics. Nevertheless, there
is little doubt that through mid-1842 the Paterson society continued
to grow; what is in doubt is the rate of growth and the numbers during
this period of maximal growth.
The
financial data also gives us a mixed picture of the vitality of the
Paterson Washingtonians. In the first quarter, the society had a cash
income of $28.35 and an expenditure of $19.56 for the use of a local
Presbyterian church as a meeting place and for the relief of "poor
drunkards." But, with a cash balance of $8.69, the society also
had "accounts receivable" (my term) of $54, some of which
was due from members and the balance of which had probably been given
as loans rather than as cash grants to drunkards. The financial problem
continued into the second quarter when the recording secretary commented
in his report that the society was having problems collecting fees and
dues owed to it; he recommended the formation of a special committee
and also that a collection be taken at each meeting. By November 1842,
a resolution was adopted "that some means may be devised to liquidate
the debt of the Society, and report some plan to keep out of debt in
the future..." (15). The procedure apparently adopted was one common
for the period, subscriptions (regular contributions) were solicited
among the citizens of Paterson.
The
Washington Temperance Benevolent Society of Paterson continued to have
considerable vitality at least through Independence Day. In May, the
first anniversary of the society was celebrated with a public parade
attended by delegates from Manchester, Aquackanonk, Hackensack, Godwinville,
New Prospect, Jersey City, Newark, Boonton, Morristown and Mattewan.
A company of Washington Temperance Guards with its own band came from
New York City. Several weeks later, a group from New York City Hose
Company Number 33 came to Paterson "with a view of giving our citizens
a Specimen of Temperance song singing," and there was "an
overflowing meeting assembled to hear this celebrated company exercise
their vocal powers. Their performance was received with great éclat
by the audience and gave universal satisfaction. One of them related
his experience of the sad effects of drunkenness, and several of our
cold water army made short addresses..."(16). They also successfully
persuaded the members of the Paterson Company Number 3 to sign the pledge
as a group. Sometime in April a group of Temperance Guards, including
a choral group that sang regularly at the meetings of the society, was
formed in Paterson. The combined Independence Day celebration of the
Paterson and Manchester societies went well and was the major celebration
in the town. The Washingtonians apparently continued to perceive themselves
as the leaders of the temperance movement, judging by the toast to "Reformed
Drunkards" (17), which went as follows: "The great Pioneers,
who in front of the army of truth, are now successfully cutting the
way through the Alcoholic wilderness of inequity and crime ..."
The last pledge of the celebration, however, reflected both the continued
concern for heavy drinkers and a recognition that the bloom had begun
to fade: "To Backsliders - We pity them - May they again sign the
pledge, and 'beware of the first glass."' This note of realism
contrasts with the congratulatory tone of the recording secretary's
comments at the close of the second quarterly report of the Paterson
society (18): "Before closing this Report, it seems proper to notice
the fidelity and perseverance with which the reformed have kept their
pledge, and the blessed results to which this conduct has led, whether
considered in reference to their own characters, the comfort and well
being of their families, their influence in society, or their business
affairs; also to invite the temperate and moderate drinker to cooperate
with us in the endeavor to put an end to drunkenness." At this
time Nathaniel Lane (sheet metal worker and stove merchant) was president
of the society and his partner, Alex H. Freeman, was a member of the
standing (executive) committee. (Lane was elected town tax collector
on the Whig ticket in 1844. Joseph Perry was treasurer and John K. Flood,
a storekeeper who short became town clerk, had been recording secretary
and was now corresponding secretary. In addition, the arrangements committee
included David H. Day, publisher of the Paterson Intelligencer, Abraham
Van Blarcom, a temperance-prohibitionist, and John Avison, shoemaker,
who was an activist in antislavery politics, a temperance-prohibitionist,
and the town post-master. There can be no doubt that the temperance-prohibitionists
were in positions of dominance in the society at this time.
By
that summer, however, the new recording secretary commented in the quarterly
report (19) that "There has been for a short time past, at least
it seemed to me, a suppression of spirits among our veteran troops of
this town; nor indeed with a reflecting mind is this to [be] wondered
at, for preparatory to the great and glorious battles of the 10th of
May and the 4th of July last, both resulting in signal victory over
the enemy, their exertions, both physically and mentally, was excessive
from exercise; marching, countermarching, raising and manning batteries,
with a thousand or more etceteras, together with pains of scars (for
their were no lives lost on the side of the Temperance Army) which are
consequent to the battlefield." He continued, "Our spirits
and wounds now healed up, let the victories of the past encourage to
redouble our exertions, in not only guarding against the insidious movements
of the deadly foe, but in making secure preparations for the next pitched
battle, which will be fought on May 10th, 1843." Still using military
language, he urged the society, "not to retire to our camps in
the flush of victory... 11 and to "stand aloof from all political
manoeuvring" for he observed that the society was being wooed by
"wiley politicians" whom he called "wolves in sheep's
clothing." The latter history of the society suggests that he was
referring to the "respectables" who had joined the society.
Civic life during this period was intensely political, and there can
be little doubt that efforts were made to manoeuvre what seemed to be
a strong and vital group to express positions favourable to the election
of Whig, Anti-Slavery or Loco-foco (Democrat) candidates. The recording
secretary had pointed to what proved to be a recurring problem for the
society. In contrast to his predecessor in the post, the recording secretary,
who warned his fellow Washingtonians of the dangers of alcohol and the
need to continue to fight, apparently had an alcohol problem of his
own; he was unceremoniously dropped from office on 28 October 1842 because
he had broken his pledge, a fact that he acknowledged in a written communication
that he requested be placed in the minutes of the society. Other incidents
of recidivism began to receive attention, and there was an occasional
report in the Paterson Intelligencer. Such a case was that of a 33-year-old
man who after 18 months of abstinence, went on a spree and, despite
the best efforts of a representative of the society (similar to Twelfth-Stepping
in Alcoholics Anonymous), finally drowned himself in the Passaic River.
The
annual report of the Manchester Washington Temperance Benevolent Society
(20), published just before Christmas, 1842, indicated that the falling
off of interest and "backsliding" were not unique to Paterson.
The Manchester Society claimed 102 members when it was organized, some
having dual membership in the Paterson society. Participation apparently
had never been heavy, even among those who signed the pledge and were
considered members, but with the help of the Paterson society, the total
number had grown to 642. Two of the three taverns in Manchester had
closed down, all 4 of the town's grocery stores had stopped selling
spirits, and reclaimed members were now observing the Sabbath in church.
Notwithstanding this, Benjamin Geroe, the recording secretary and an
active temperance-prohibitionist, commented that some of the officers
as well as some of the members "have not paid that attention to
so good a cause as they might have done, and probably through their
inattention in a measure, may be ascribed the cause of some falling
away or returning to their cups." He concludes, nonetheless, with
the hopeful statement that "of late a new impulse appears to be
given to the standard of Teetotalism, as if they were determined on
nothing less than complete victory."
Meanwhile
the society rapidly became routinized; its meetings apparently were
about the same week after week and much of the early excitement dissipated.
Some of the extra-organizational efforts of the society were given up.
Both the Junior Washington Temperance Benevolent Society and the Temperance
Guards projects were abandoned sometime after the Independence Day celebration.
Appeals were made to "make some extra efforts to produce a more
lively interest in the cause of Temperance"(15), and a week-long
series of meetings, similar to those held in the formative period of
the society, was organized. Prominent speakers from New York and Philadelphia
were "engaged" for these meetings; special meetings were held
as often as possible to hear popular "Washingtonian lectures,"
for a degree of specialization had begun to emerge. That comment that
"If the above named gentlemen do not draw full houses, we don't
know who can" (21), makes clear that recruitment was uppermost
in the minds of the sponsors. A drift away from Washingtonian practices
appears to have begun; at the last meeting in November 1842, a motion
was passed that thereafter the pledge would not be circulated at meetings
but would be available for those who wished to sign. Evidently most
of those who now came to the meetings had signed the pledge; for all
practical purposes, the membership recruitment process had reached its
peak and only a few who were eligible to sign the pledge were now coming
to the meetings. Further, "experience meetings," which were
a central feature of Washingtonian practice, had apparently fallen off
during mid-1842, because a motion was passed to hold experience meetings
"in order to bring out new speakers to keep up the interest of
the meetings" (22). But these experience meetings were to be held
on Thursday nights while the regular meetings were held on Friday nights
(both were held in the basement of the Methodist Episcopal Church).
A trial of King Alcohol was scheduled for February 1843 in order to
pique the interest of persons who might not otherwise be attracted to
the meetings. For a time the weekly meetings were dropped, but they
were begun again in the hope that they would attract more members and
greater participation.
The
second anniversary celebration of the Washington Temperance Benevolent
Society of Paterson, on 10 May 1843, was a more subdued affair than
the previous one, although there was a procession through Paterson and
Manchester. The Independence Day celebration that year included the
Washingtonians, but they did not dominate it as they had in the two
previous years. The incoming president, Samuel A. Van Saun, was a grocery
store keeper, a member of the Township Poor Committee, and a warden
of the Paterson Fire Association; the incoming recording secretary was
Dr. J. Nightingale; the treasurer was William Moyle, a public accountant
and bill collector, who was also an active antislavery advocate; and
John Avison was on the standing committee. Given this kind of top leadership
in the Paterson society, it is not surprising to find that on 18 June
1843 there was a lecture by Reverend Warren, agent of the New Jersey
State Temperance Society, and that on the next day Warren suggested
organizing a juvenile band to be coordinated with the activities of
the Washington Society. That is, the temperance-prohibitionists now
proposed to pick up the juvenile program that the Washingtonians had
abandoned.
The
liaison with the temperance-prohibitionists intensified in 1844. Until
this time, the Paterson Washingtonians had largely ignored the meetings
of the county and state temperance societies, but now a delegation was
appointed to attend the State Temperance Convention to be held in Trenton
on 17 January 1844. Among the delegates were Benjamin Geroe the longtime
recording secretary of the Manchester society (which was now an auxiliary
of the Paterson society), Nathaniel Lane, Samuel A. Van Saun and Horatio
Moses, the incoming president of the Paterson society. The third anniversary
celebration of the Paterson Washingtonians on 10 May 1844 was a relatively
subdued evening service held in the Methodist Episcopal Church. "The
audience was large and respectable, "said the Paterson Intelligencer,
(23), "principally ladies, whose presence and strict attention,
enlivens and cheers a meeting of any description.', One of the principal
speakers was the Reverend E. Cheever, of Newark, secretary of the Essex
County Temperance Society, who gave an address "well calculated
to invigorate teetotalers with new life and to reward action."
Horatio Moses was the new president; Samuel A. Van Saun was now treasurer,
John Avison and Benjamin Crane, an antislavery activist, were members
of the executive committee and Wright Flavell, also an antislavery activist,
was on the relief committee. The speaker at the 9 August 1844 meeting
was the Reverend Mr. Wise, agent of the New England Temperance Society,
whose subject was "the moral character of the traffic in intoxicating
liquors; in which he showed by convincing arguments, that it could not
be carried on in obedience to the divine commandments, but was productive
of much injury to mankind, producing crime, disease, degradation, and
death to a great extent" (24). This was followed by a speech on
30 August 1844 at which a Mr. Root spoke "of the necessity of Christians
aiding the Temperance Cause" (25). Root also discussed his theory
that evil spirits exert influence over men suffering from delirium tremens
(26), which is referred to as a "disease" in the newspaper
report. All of this built to a meeting on 15 November at which the members
of the society were asked to circulate a petition to the legislature
calling for prohibition of the sale of alcoholic drinks on the Christian
Sabbath; the members of the Washington Temperance Benevolent Society
of Paterson had now been brought around to political activism contrary
to the original Washington stance and in line with the temperance-prohibitionist
political strategy of incrementalism. The principal speaker, the Reverend
Mr. Russell, further "spoke of the influence of Public Sentiment
in Republican governments, and showed that in order to sustain good
laws we must continue to sow the seeds of truth and thus get public
sentiment right in regard to the subject of Temperance, that it will
sustain good laws" (27). His speech, in conjunction with those
of other recent speakers, provided the basis for a justification of
political temperance activity-prohibitionism.
From
this point on, reports of the Washington Temperance Benevolent Society
become more and more sketchy. The affiliation with the state temperance
society had become regularized is suggested by the fact that three of
the four delegates sent to the January 1845 convention had also been
to the 1844 convention. Informal ties were developed with the Ancient
Order of Rechabites, a temperance fraternal order. In March 1846 the
Paterson Washingtonians moved another step, toward the temperance- prohibitionist
approach with the passage of a resolution stating "That in the
opinion of this Society, the Court of Common Pleas, at its present session
in granting licenses, have not only violated the strict letter and spirit
of the law, but have shown themselves destitute of common morality"
(26). This resolution, ostensibly a commentary on who should or should
not receive licenses, moves close to prohibitionism when it denounces
the members of the court as "destitute of common morality";
only by a refusal of all licenses would the court have been in accordance
with the concept of "common morality," which the group now
seemed to espouse. The Paterson Washington society was almost moribund
by 1846, but there was still enough life in it for a major controversy,
one which illustrates that, for all practical purposes, it had been
absorbed into the temperance-prohibitionist camp. This was so, despite
the fact that on 18 March 1846 it published a resolution to the effect
that it was neutral with respect to moral, political or religious questions
and that it did not attempt to control the individual acts of its members
in any respect outside of its business in the Temperance Hall. This
was obviously in anticipation of a letter printed in the Paterson Intelligencer
of 25 March 1846 by S. Tutle, a member of the executive committee of
the society, in which he tendered his resignation from the committee
on the grounds that the society had become political. "There were
some," he wrote, "who were slow to embrace the principles
of Total Abstinence, and Washingtonians, forgetting the secret of their
success (moral suasion), resorted to political action, to force those
men into compliance with their principles. From that time to the present,
a shameful course of hypocrisy and double-dealing has been pursued by
many of the professed friends of Temperance. They care no more for the
progress of Temperance principles than they do for the religion of Mohamet;
and they only mount the Temperance hobby, hoping to ride over the ruins
of the Whig party." Tuttle went on to point out that at a recent
county temperance meeting called at the behest of the Paterson Washington
society a resolution was adopted that "we, as lovers of the principles
set forth in the previous address [i.e., temperance-prohibitionist principles],
will not give our suffrage to any persons who is not pledged to Total
Abstinence," thereby proscribing every unpledged candidate and
raising up a powerful opposition to the temperance cause. Tuttle argued
that the Paterson Washington society had called the meeting and that
the resolution had been passed unanimously, and so the Paterson Society,
was inconsistent in now claiming that it had not taken a political position.
Tuttle further claimed that one of the objects of the meeting was to
take action to support the formation of a temperance ticket for town
officers at the ensuing town meeting. Tuttle argued that such a ticket
could not win but could only lead to the defeat of the Whigs. To which
some participants of the convention reportedly replied "God speed"
before Tuttle could point out that the major consequence of the plan
would be the election of the Democratic slate. When he did point that
out and offered a counterrevolution, he was voted down by those who
were committed to political action. He charged that "The Society
has now sanctioned the political juggling of its members, by telling
them in effect, that it will have nothing to do with politics, and that
they may come into their Hall and hold a Temperance Benevolent meeting,
and then go right into the next room, or any other place and hold a
Temperance Political meeting, and it will be all right; and if any man
charges the Society with political movements, then he is an artful and
designing man! I think, sir that the Temperance Society, as a body,
is secretly in favour of these political movements, and therefore I
have declined acting as one of its Business Committee." He goes
on to say that after the meeting one member admitted that he wanted
the Whig party to lose at the next election and that he was a Loco-foco
(Democrat). An unsigned reply the following week argued that Mr. Tuttle
had intruded into a private meeting called expressly to form a caucus
(and, by inference that was not a Washingtonian meeting) and so he was
out of order. Efforts were made to resolve the serious disagreement
that had arisen within the Paterson Washington Temperance Benevolent
Society but they were not very successful. The society went on with
its annual meeting and the Independence Day celebration was conducted
in conjunction with the Rechabites and the Sons of Temperance. At one
meeting in June not enough members were present to provide a quorum.
The struggle came to a head when, at the mid-August meeting, Abraham
Van Blarcom, a temperance-prohibitionist, offered a resolution that
the society support a local option license law similar to the one in
New York State and that the members of the society would not support
anyone who was "not known as the open and decided friend of such
a law" (29). The motion was tabled, to be brought up at the mid-September
meeting. Tuttle offered an amendment to strike out the clause about
withholding the vote, and the support of local option licensing passed.
There ensued an indecisive struggle between the advocates of withholding
the vote and those opposed. The resolution of this struggle was not
publicly reported, but it is clear that the temperance-prohibitionist
position in favour of legal suasion had been accepted even by those
who were opposed to withholding the vote; the struggle was over the
next steps of political activity rather than the principle that Washingtonians
would refrain from efforts to prevent the consumption or sale of alcoholic
beverages through legislation.
That
the Paterson Washington Temperance Benevolent Society was now largely
irrelevant to the temperance movement in Paterson is evidenced by the
fact that in early November 1847 a series of temperance meetings were
announced in the various churches in town - the Methodist Episcopal,
Baptist and Free Presbyterian. The meetings were strongly legalistic
and linked morality to a legislative approach. The Washingtonian society
was not a sponsor of these meetings; it had been bypassed. There is
even some question as to whether the organization any longer existed
except in a nominal sense, for reports of its activities were no longer
published in the Paterson Intelligencer, which had been strongly supportive
from its very inception.
