The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1888-08-30
ANTI-TREAIING SOCIETIES.
They Hope to DO Away With Drunk.
enness and Do on her C. God Works.

from the Cleveland Leadar.l
a great deal OF curiosity has been
manifested IL some quarters recently
concerning the object Of the anti treat
ing societies organized IL this city.
Residents Of Cleveland have in
corporate1 three such organizations
The first Is known as the Cosmopol tan
Benevolent Association No, !, the SEQ
ond as the Germanla Charitable and
Protective Association No. ,, and the
third as the Hungarian Charitable au5
Protective Association NJ. 3. 1t has
been limited that they were organized
for the purpose OF evallnS the over
law and TO enable members to secure
beer on Sunday without fear Of punish.
meut To ascertain the truth In tbs
matter a Letder reporter visited zeYera
members yesterday. He encountered }.
". SykOra, EsI., one Of the prime
movers in the Incorporation Of the as.
ISOLATION No. /. Mr.. SykOra stated
that the intentions Of the anti treating
socit ties, 50 called, were far different
from what they had been reported to be.
In reply 10 question whether it was
their wish 10 eyade the Owen law, Mr.
SvkOra entered vigorous denial. lie
said: Such IS not our purpose Mt all.
We are really organized to prevent, as
far rs possible, the custom OF treating
We believe that it IS the curse Of Amer
lea and England. Indeed, it is the very
foundation of all the evils arising from
the use of liquor. Very few men would
become drunkards were 1t not for the
evil Of treating. Two men, for instance,
go into a saloon, and one buys the
drinks Then the other treats, and per.
haps q third and fourth friend comes il
meanwhile, and before the party
separates they have had four or tivG
drinks apiece. If one man had gone III
| he would perhaps have taken one glass
| Of liquor, and then gone out. This
treating, [ tell you, has ruined many q
man"
Glow do you propose to remedy the
| evil2" was asked,
Each member pledges himself to re-
frain from treating any one else, and tt
refuse to allow any one to treat him to d
| drink of liquor. AS you know, thred
associations have already been formed
in this city, and it is expected they will
! be organized all over the State when
| their purposes are recognized
"Why do you call it charitable and
! benevOlent3 Do you pay benefits OF
anything of that kind 2
"No, that is not our intention. We
| do expect, however, to found q home fol
! the treatment Of drunkards. Drunken
| ness, | believe, is disease, and shoulC
| be treated scientifically. To raise money
for this purpose, we shall give enter
| tainments, and next winter we shall
| send petition to the Legislature asking
| for the establishment 81 a retreat or al
asylum for inebriates, for the same
reason that the State provides for the IN
sane, the idiOtic, the blind, etc.
"You do not intend to enforce the
| principles of prohibition, do you =
"Not at all. Our members are at per
feet liberty to drink as they please, a.
| long as they neither treat nor be treated
| for one don't believe in prohibition. l
has been failure ever since that frs
| prohibition in the Garden of Eden, whe1
| the Lord commanded Eve not to eat the
apple. | believe that the evil of liquor
lies not in its use, but In its abuse.
''DO you propose to circulate htera
ture upon the subject of anti-treating!'
"Certainly. 1t is our purpose to pusl
the work as best we can. Of course
most of the members have not mucl
money to spare, but evory one can pa.
the quarter necessary for joining"
"Are you regularly organized and d.
| you have meetings?'
Eyes, although, of course, our organi
cation is not yet perfected. We ma.
meet on Sunday or on some other day
If we choose to meet on Sunday it i
| nOUOdy's business. But / assure yOl
that our purpose is honestly to endeayo
to prevent, as far as we can, drunken
ness, and we believe that if we can stol
treating we have in large measure &C
complished our purpose. There are IL
our association, the Cosmopolitan, thir
| ty-tive members.
care there anti-treating societies il
other States similar to yours"
81 believe not. The idea originate
with few of us, who are the incorpora
tors of the association No. l. There ar
in other States asylums for drunkard
like those we shall try to have establishe,
in Ohio"