The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-02-05
DOMAIN OF TEMPERANCE
HOW THE DUTCH FIGHT THE
EVIL.

1 s. IT,
IF you are. victim Of alcohol,
come and talk 1t over with us at the
Consultation Bureau at The Haguel"
In this helpful spirit strong effort
Is being made by the Dutch authori-
ties to combat the evil Of intemper-
ance
The bureau has been installed in
spacious premises in the center of the
Netherlands residence city and every
wednesday an eminent medical man
and other helpers are in attendance
to give friendly, advice and to find
work for men and women addicted TO
intemperance who find themselves yir-
tually outcasts owing to their unfor-
tunate habits. Tt has been found that
talking at" those people who have
fallen victims TO the drink habit has
proved in most cases ineffective and
now the more sensible method Of ap-
pealing to reason and human feelings
is being tried with apparently good
results.
Many men and women attend these
weekly consultations, coming from all
parts of the country-generally, it
must be said, at the instanae of we'll
wishing employers, relatives and
friends--to confer with the expert spe-
cialist in charge of the bureau. No
sermon is read to the victims of the
weakness. The applicant is asked in
a kindly way about his or her occupa-
ton and mode of life in general and
as to the cause Of his or her lack OF
occupation.
Usually the reply indicates the per-
sons lack of will-power when invited
to drink. The doctor inquiries why the
victim does not refuse the liquor and
the answer generally comes, II can
not, for then I am asked the reason,
and don't know what to say!"
Why" says the doctor, "now you
can tell them that the doctor orders
you not to take intoxicants. Try that
for q week and then come back and
see me- ~
In most instances work is provided
for the drink victim and the employer
is requested and consents to exercise
a kind of friendly supervision over his
new employee and to report results.
Reports of the bureau show that the
system is working we'll in hundreds
of cases, especially when the man or
woman is comparatively young. Others
apparently are too far gone to be
amenable to moral suasion, but even
some of these listen to the kindly ad-
vice and try again and again to over
come their own weakness, but many
of them inevitably drift once more
and eventually find their way into the
prisons and municipal and State insti-
buttons for the mentally deficient.
| Meanwhile a campaign is also being
carried on by the numerous abstinence
societies throughout the country to
combat the drink evil Congresses
were held in the third week of Sep
TENDER at Deventer by the General
| Netherlands Total Abstainers' Union
and at Utrecht by the National Com
mission to Counterfeit Alcoholism,
while at Utrecht an exposition was
held to show the bad effects lof indul-
gence in strong drink.
Speakers at these congresses pointed
out to their audiences the steps taken
by the various belligerent countries to
prevent alcoholism in the armies and
the beneficial effects the measures
taken had had on the health of the
troops undergoing so many privations
and hardships in the trenches. At the
same time it was argued that these
regulations, having proved their value
| in increasing the efficiency of the
soldiers, should not be confined to the
armies, but should be extended to the
peoples in general, as had been done
| in Russia with success.
Some of the military commanders in
Holland have issued strict orders in
the garrison cities under martial law
to prevent excessive drinking both
among the soldiers and the people. In
Clinge, for instance, all clubs, cafes
and liquor stores must be closed from
an hour before sunset until an hour
after sunrise, and heavy fines are in
fiicted for contraventions of the regl-
lations. Other places, too, have SINH
lar restrictions, but in general in the
Netherlands the rules concerning the
sale Of intoxicating drink are very
elastic.