Evening star., 1940-06-14
Ry ROBERT A. ERWIN.


~. -
asa~ BY ROBERT A. ERWIN.
~ Progress of Alcoholics Anonymous
turing the past 1s months, especial
&iy in many larger cities of the Ma
Lion, has attracted the interest of
leaders in religion and medicine.
- - They have studied closely this
movement that originated in New
York City five years ago. They have
sought to determine how, in so many
eases the Double AS have succeed
ed in Strengthening out drunks where
eother formulas have failed.
~ In Washington, the medical pro-
fession at this stage of the organi-
zation's development is more fa-
niliar with the movement than is
the clergy. In other cities, how
ever, both clergymen and doctors
have appraised Alcoholics Anony-
NOUS. Since religion is the key
stone of the organizations creed,
this phase will be considered today.
Fosdick Notes Movement.
The book. alcoholics Anony-
NOUS" mentioned in the first article
of this series, brought favorable
and analytical review from the pen
of DR.. Harry Emerson Fosdick,
noted Baptist leader.
DR.. Fosdick declared the book
fnerited the attention of ANY one
interested in the problem of al
Coholism" and that it represented
"the pooled experience of 100 men
and women who have been victims
of alcoholism, many of them de-
clared hopeless by the experts
The core of the whole procedure
Is religious" he said, the expulsion
of the alcoholics ohsesSion by a
power greater-than himself No
where is the tolerance and OPEN
mindednesS of the book more evi-
dent than in its treatment of this
central matter.
They are not partisans of any
particular form of organized re-
ligion, although they strongly rec
ommend that some religious fel-
lowship be found by their partici-
pants" continued DR.. Fosdick. by
religion, they mean an experience
which they personally know and
which has saved them from their
slavery when psychiatry and medi-
cine had failed.
Sure of God.
They agree that each man must
have his own way of conceiving
God, but of God himself they are
utterly sure, and their stories of
victory in consequence are a nota-
BILE addition to William James Va
rieties of Religious Experience
In its westward movement from
New York, Alcoholics Anonymous
took definite root in Cleveland,
Ohio, and there Immediately at
tracted the attention of the clergy.
DR.. DilWorth sLupton, pastor of
Cleveland's First Unitarian Church,
said in sermon on alcoholism
and Religion" that "I must hunnbly
confess to having failed completely
with alcoholics who have come to
me for help. Many of my friends
in the fields of medicine and psy-
chiatry confess to the same feeling
of futility.
Recently, my experiences with a
victim of alcoholism and later with
the movement first aroused
my hopes, then my faith, and now
l am convinced that these people
have found way out. I have seen
the evidence with my own eyes," DR..
Lupton said.
Visited by Ex-Victims.
Consider the ex-victim T have
Just referred to. We will call him
Mr.. x. He is a young man with a
family. For fve years he was
rarely sober. He and his wife were
headed straight for the divorce
courts. Mr.. x consented two years
ago to disqualification While un-
der treatment he received 18 visits
from eX-victims who were memoers
of Alcoholics Anonymous, all of
them laymen who had been alco-
holics themselves.
Soon he was attending weekly
meetings of the group in Cleveland.
He hasn't had drink since. For
months he has been giving virtually
every minute of his spare time to
helping other victims
Discussing his attendance at
meetings of the Cleveland A. AS,
DR.. Lupton said he found mo excess
sive piety, no sensationalism, no
fanaticism, no aggressive evangel-
ism. They have no desire to make
the country or anybody else dry
unless he happens to be, like. them
alergic to alcohol. They seem to
have good sense of humor, quail
ity sometimes rare in religious cir
cles."
Alcoholics Anonymous has no
formal organization. It's business
is conducted through the mailing
address, Alcoholics Foundation, Box
658 Church Street Annex Post
Office, New York City. This also is
the mail address of the Washington
chapter.