September 1, 1901 — Carnegie Hall, New York City

I shall talk to you to-night upon God’s saloon. God’s saloon is in all the earth. Did he not say “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come unto me, and I will give you drink?” But the devil imitates everything that God does, so he, too, has established saloons all over the earth. You have them here in New York, and I saw a lot of them running to-day directly contrary to the law.

I want to know what you women are going to do about this thing. The women have a duty to perform that you little realize. In the first place if I was a young woman I would don’t let a man who smoked or one who drank have anything to do with me. I would say to him, “I won’t let you, you nicotine-soaked, beer-besmeared, whisky-smeared, red-eyed devil, talk to me to my face. You must do it by telephone ,until you get cleaned up.

God told me to use the hatchet. He said: “Ye shall break down the idols.” He didn’t say smash them down, but He meant it. Moses was a good smasher. Look how he smashed the golden calf. Hatchetation is a mighty good thing sometimes. 

Now I’ve said a good deal about men, let me say to you women that you haven’t got time to sit down in your homes and squeeze up your waists with corsets, and let the men go on in their wicked ways. I hate corsets, anyway. They deform women all out of shape. They are all made by men, and women buy them because men who make the fashions in Paris say they must buy them. And all of this just to make a living for these men.

It would be a big job to learn out New York, but if I had all the women in this place to-night back of me and I had one good sound hatchet, I could go out and break up a hundred saloons before day. You men had better look out for the women. We can outvote you now. Before long this will be a women-ruled govt if you men don’t get to work and save the country from the terrible drunkard shops that are all over the Nation.

Source: The New York Times, September 2, 1901, p. 1-2.