Page:Famous Living Americans, with Portraits.djvu/251

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232 FAMOUS LIVING AMERICANS and their songs were a balance of power against the organ- ized liquor forces of the whole country, notwithstanding the money they poured into Maine in order to defeat **The Pro- hibitory Amendment. * ^ In all state campaigns for prohibition, since the Maine vic- tory, the Young Campaigners for Prohibition have had an im- portant part. Miss Gordon's heart responds so tenderly and sympathet- ically to child life, that by her songs, her writings, and her personality, she is known and loved by children around the world. July 21st, the birthday of Anna Adams Gordon, is celebrated by thousands of children. Somehow the poetic temperament, the artistic instinct, and overwhelming love for children, have conspired to keep Miss Gordon young. At a great children's meeting held recently in Philadelphia, a stranger remarked, after watching Miss Gordon 's marvelous management of the meeting, * * How girl- ish she looks ! ' ' Her slight figure, erect carriage and graceful bearing, with her winsome personality give her a distinctly youthful appearance. She is distinctively feminine. Besides her stories and songs for children, her musical com- positions, and many articles and pamphlets on various phases of W. C. T. U. work, she is the author of The Life of Frances E. Willard, What Frances E. WUlard Said, and The White Ribbon Hymnal. Had Miss Gordon devoted herself to literature, art, or music exclusively, she would have stood out preeminently among the great of her generation. While retaining much of the conservatism of her New Eng- land training, Miss Gordon blends with that conservatism to- day the wider outlook of humanity, demanding World Wide Prohibition of the Liquor TraflSc, the Enfranchisement of Women, and Peace among Nations. Miss Gordon has a poise and reserve most unusual. Her manners and generous sympathies make others feel at ease in her presence, and give to each the feeling that Miss Gordon 's interest is particularly personal. There is an indefinable charm of personality that is as rare as is the soul of the