P1003187
ST. PATRICK'S ANTI - TREATING LEAGUE.
One of the most potent forces for temperance in Ireland is the AntiTreating League, to which we have before referred briefly in these columns, but a more detailed account of which we give this week :— St. Patrick's Anti-Treating League originated in the County Wexford, Ireland, and the organizing secretary is the Rev. John J. Kossiter, M. SS., House of Missions, Enniscorthy; but the movement has passed to other parts of the country, and now all Ireland is its field of operations. It is not a total abstinence society. Its members may not drink to excess at any time, but they need not pledge themselves to abstain totally from intoxicants. Many members of the League are total abstainers, and the League does not exclude, but indeed welcomes, them ; yet its primary object is to combat one special and very grave drinking abuse — the custom so common in Ireland of "treating" in public-houses. Years ago Archbishop Croke, recognizing the evil of this custom, urged all his countrymen to stop it at once and forever. He said truly that if this custom were abolished, it would check an immense amount of that unhappy drunkenness which arises, not from an Irishman's love of drink, but from his love of hospitality and good-fellowship. St. Patrick's Anti-Treating League is an attempt to follow out the advice of the great archbishop of Cashel. It is placed under the patronage of the national apostle because it rests on the double foundation of religion and patriotism. A member promises :— " First, —Not to take a treat from another, nor to give one himself, in any place where drink is sold. "Secondly,—He promises not to be guilty of the sin of intemperance himself, but to observe the law of God faithfully on all occasions in this matter." All members wear the badge of the League everywhere, especially when they go from home, whether for business or pleasure. The badge is a shamrock in green enamel, with the three Celtic initials of the League, C. N. P., printed on shields in the centre of the three small leaves. These letters stand for the Irish words Connrad Naoim Padraig, or League of St. Patrick. Women may join the League, and are entreated to do so, in order that they may add to it the weight of their influence and example. The pledge against treating is publicly renewed on All Saints' Day and St. Patrick's Day, every year. Many branches of the League are attached to parishes, and hence take on a religious character, but some branches are purely secular, being started in connection with literary, athletic or other clubs.
One feature of the League that deserves special mention is the juvenile division. It is a common practice all through Ireland for children to take the total abstinence pledge until the age of twenty-one. Those young persons who have kept or renewed that pledge form the juvenile total abstinence division of the League. A specially designed badge, costing a penny, has been got out for the young teetotallers. A special card, also, of handsome Celtic design, has been brought out for the juvenile branch, and has just now been finished by an Irish firm. In connection with this movement for the promotion of Irish temperance, it is interesting to note that the Gaelic League, which has done so much to awaken the strong, old, self-reliant spirit of the Irish race, is very much in favor of antitreating. One of the resolutions adopted at its last Congress (Dublin, May, 1902) reads:— "As the custom of public-house treating (which is not one of our old Irish customs, but a comparatively modern drinking abuse,) is now one of the most prolific sources of intemperance in this country, and, therefore, a national evil, this Congress desires to express its approval of the principles of St. Patrick's Anti-Treating League, and commends the anti-treating movement to the active support of members of the Gaelic League as being well calculated to put an effective check on intemperance, to curtail our extravagant expenditure on drink, and to reduce our self-imposed yearly tribute to the English exchequer."
P1003187
ST. PATRICK'S ANTI - TREATING LEAGUE.
One of the most potent forces for temperance in Ireland is the AntiTreating League, to which we have before referred briefly in these columns, but a more detailed account of which we give this week :— St. Patrick's Anti-Treating League originated in the County Wexford, Ireland, and the organizing secretary is the Rev. John J. Kossiter, M. SS., House of Missions, Enniscorthy; but the movement has passed to other parts of the country, and now all Ireland is its field of operations. It is not a total abstinence society. Its members may not drink to excess at any time, but they need not pledge themselves to abstain totally from intoxicants. Many members of the League are total abstainers, and the League does not exclude, but indeed welcomes, them ; yet its primary object is to combat one special and very grave drinking abuse — the custom so common in Ireland of "treating" in public-houses. Years ago Archbishop Croke, recognizing the evil of this custom, urged all his countrymen to stop it at once and forever. He said truly that if this custom were abolished, it would check an immense amount of that unhappy drunkenness which arises, not from an Irishman's love of drink, but from his love of hospitality and good-fellowship. St. Patrick's Anti-Treating League is an attempt to follow out the advice of the great archbishop of Cashel. It is placed under the patronage of the national apostle because it rests on the double foundation of religion and patriotism. A member promises :— " First, —Not to take a treat from another, nor to give one himself, in any place where drink is sold. "Secondly,—He promises not to be guilty of the sin of intemperance himself, but to observe the law of God faithfully on all occasions in this matter." All members wear the badge of the League everywhere, especially when they go from home, whether for business or pleasure. The badge is a shamrock in green enamel, with the three Celtic initials of the League, C. N. P., printed on shields in the centre of the three small leaves. These letters stand for the Irish words Connrad Naoim Padraig, or League of St. Patrick. Women may join the League, and are entreated to do so, in order that they may add to it the weight of their influence and example. The pledge against treating is publicly renewed on All Saints' Day and St. Patrick's Day, every year. Many branches of the League are attached to parishes, and hence take on a religious character, but some branches are purely secular, being started in connection with literary, athletic or other clubs.
One feature of the League that deserves special mention is the juvenile division. It is a common practice all through Ireland for children to take the total abstinence pledge until the age of twenty-one. Those young persons who have kept or renewed that pledge form the juvenile total abstinence division of the League. A specially designed badge, costing a penny, has been got out for the young teetotallers. A special card, also, of handsome Celtic design, has been brought out for the juvenile branch, and has just now been finished by an Irish firm. In connection with this movement for the promotion of Irish temperance, it is interesting to note that the Gaelic League, which has done so much to awaken the strong, old, self-reliant spirit of the Irish race, is very much in favor of antitreating. One of the resolutions adopted at its last Congress (Dublin, May, 1902) reads:— "As the custom of public-house treating (which is not one of our old Irish customs, but a comparatively modern drinking abuse,) is now one of the most prolific sources of intemperance in this country, and, therefore, a national evil, this Congress desires to express its approval of the principles of St. Patrick's Anti-Treating League, and commends the anti-treating movement to the active support of members of the Gaelic League as being well calculated to put an effective check on intemperance, to curtail our extravagant expenditure on drink, and to reduce our self-imposed yearly tribute to the English exchequer."