The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1909-03-18
DUTCH TREAT
NOW POPULAR
URGED TO REMEDY MUCH OF
THE EXISTING EVILS OF THE
LIQUOR TRAFFIC
THE TREATING HABIT

Is a Bad Practice and Many Hard
Earned Dollars Slip Away to Avoid
Being Termed "a Tight Wad"--Not
Permitted In Germany.
"The Dutch Treat" otherwise the
treatless treat, through the efforts of
the German-American alliance, is gain
ing widespread popularity throughout
the country, and a movement may be
started to inaugurate the custom in
Stark county to counteract the local
option fermentation. In fact there is
Is a possibility that it may be placed
in vogue by the wet" forces to allevi-
ate the saloon situation in all of the
unprohibitiVe territory of the state.
1t is being taken up in other parts of
the country, not merely to fight local
optionists and prohibitionists, but to
effectually remedy much of the exist
ing evil of the liquor traffic.
1t is quite commonly known that
one of the chief evils of the saloon is
the treating habit. The "have-one-on-
me habit is the frequent cause of
many mans imbibing more than ne
really likes, and much more than is
really good for him. Many a hard
earned dollar, yes, many much toll
ed for weeks wages goes by the
board as the result of the prevalence
of the treating habit. A man who re-
frains from the use of the custom, is
Stunned by all who know him and is
generally scorned as "tightwad."
This is a typical treating scene.
(Have you been there0 Saturday
night Come on, Bill, have one on
me- says he as he pulls out the wal
let of greeNfsh looking paper, he has
just drawn for his weeks wages.
OF course, Bill can't refrain in fact
he never does. Bill abhoring the de-
grading cognomen of "tight-wad," buys
in his turn, but just at that moment
two or three, perhaps it was four, pals
enter the place. They are invited to
"get in on the treat" They in turn
make their contribution to the bar,
and by the time the rounds are made
several times, everybody feels pretty
happy, and not uncommonly, pretty
drunk. Then they have few more
rounds to get sober again. BY that
time, Bills and Jacks and Toms and
Dicks and Harry's monetary supply is
beginning to become exhausted. But
happily IL o'clock comes. (Remember
this is Saturday night. Between 12
and 1 there are uncertain sidewalks,
erratic keyholes, and multitude of
other difficulties, which end only with
the proverbial next day headache"
The bliss of solitary drinking is en-
joyed only by the real Germans, who
acquired the habit in der Vaderland,
and it is only upon these persons that
the evil effects of drinking fail to dis
play themselves. One lonely drink, or
two lonely drinks, suffice. 1t is be-
cause of the fact that the custom of
pay-for-your-own drink is confined
chiefly to the Germans, that it has de-
rived the name Dutch Treat" In
Germany, the handiest way to insult
a man is to offer to buy him a drink,
but there is absolutely no stigma at
tached to visiting a saloon. A man
may go there and drink all he wants
without fear of public gossip, but he
himself must pay for everything he
imbibes. While this method of alco-
holic indulgence is still very much ad-
hered to by the older classes Of Amer
icanized Germans, their offspring in
variably adopt the American custom.