AAHistoryLovers : Messages : 5526-5555 of 6172

The following carbon copy was found in a file
cabinet belonging to Tom Powers at East Ridge:



Harper & Brothers                  Jun 3, 1957
49 E. 33rd Street
New York, NY

    Attention: Mr Eugene Exman, Religious Editor

Gentlemen:

Referring to the coming publication by you of
"A.A. Comes of Age" of which I am the author,
I wish to make the following disposition of
my royalty of 15% for the duration of the
first copyright or for the duration of the
time you continue to distribute the book �
whichever is the greater.

In advance of this publication I would like to
assign my royalties to the following people,
for services rendered:

On the first five thousand books, I would like
my royalty equally divided between Mr. Tom
Powers of Chappaqua, New York, and Miss Nell
Wing of New York City.

Should you dispose of more than this quantity,
I would like my royalties on the remainder
divided equally between Mrs. Katherine Swentzel
of New York City and Mrs. Helen Riker of
Phoenix, Arizona.

On the death of any of these people, their
share of the royalty will become payable to
my account at Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing,
Inc., New York City.

Again, let me thank you deeply for the
wonderful cooperation that I have enjoyed in
the preparation of this book from all of you
concerned at Harpers.

Sincerely yours,

William G. Wilson

WGW/nw

#5549

From: jenny andrews <jennylaurie1@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:07 am
Subject: RE: Big Book royalties -- 10% to Helen W.

eze_kiel03

Offline

Re history of BB royalties: "Helen (Wynn) was
always broke ... (so) Bill decided that she
would inherit a percentage of his royalties
from the (Big) book..." (My Name is Bill,
Susan Cheever, Washington Square Press, 2004);

and,

"After Helen left the Grapevine in 1962, Bill
contributed to her support though when he
wanted to direct a portion of his royalty
income to her, the AA trustees refused to do
it. Bill was furious, and Helen was terribly
hurt. In 1963, though, prompted by his
worsening emphysema, Bill and AA executed a
new royalty agreement that called for Helen
to receive ten per cent of his book royalties,
and Lois 90 per cent after his death. Bill
also added a codicil to his will in which he
referred to this agreement and confirmed that
the allocation of royalty income it provided
was indeed his desire." (Bill W: a biography
of Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill Wilson,
Francis Hartigan, Thomas Dunne Books,
St Martin's Griffin, 2000).

#5548

From: jenny andrews <jennylaurie1@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:55 am
Subject: RE: Bill W quote: Our quarrels have not hurt us ....

eze_kiel03

Offline

Don't know about a "convention", but this is
what Bill said in a talk recorded in As Bill
Sees It under the heading Trouble Becomes an
Asset:

"I think that this particular General Service
Conference (1958) holds promise and has been
filled with progress - because it has had
trouble ... If this Conference was ruffled,
if individuals were deeply disturbed - I say,
'This is fine.' What parliament, what republic,
what democracy has not been disturbed?
Friction of opposing viewpoints is the very
modus operandi on which they proceed. Then
what should we be afraid of?"

- - - -

To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
From: Baileygc23@...
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:22:57 -0500
Subject: Bill W quote:
Our quarrels have not hurt us ....

Bill W. addressed one convention and said,
'Our quarrels have not hurt us one bit.'

Can anyone tell me which convention it was,
and where I can get a copy of his entire
address to that convention?




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#5547

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:55 am
Subject: History of Royalties - Part 5 (last)

lefthanded_ny

Offline

1986 - (1986 GSC-FR 8) contained the following under the title "Update on
AA's copyrights."

..

The copyright on the first edition of the Big Book lapsed in 1967 and the
copyright on the new material in the second edition lapsed in 1983--both
because of a failure to renew them in a timely fashion. There was a mistaken
belief that registering the copyright on the second edition in 1956 served
to revive the copyright on the first edition; the misconception continued,
with respect to the second edition, when the third edition was copyrighted
in 1976.

..

But what was to be done about the royalties to Lois W prescribed in a 1963
agreement between Bill and AAWS Inc? We and Lois reaffirmed the intent of
Bill and the 1963 AAWS board by negotiating an amendment providing for the
continuation of the 1963 agreement as though the copyrights were still valid
and guaranteeing that Lois and AAWS, Inc, would each hold the other harmless
for the loss of the copyright in 1967.

..

1986 - (1986 GSC-FR 28-29) contained the following under the report from
AAWS:

..

We discovered that the copyright to the first edition of the Big Book lapsed
in 1967, and that the material in that book has been in the public domain
since that time. This event was precipitated by the publishing of a replica
of the first edition by CTM Inc. As a result, we engaged in significant
legal exchanges with that company, and we believe it has ceased to publish.
Future responsibility for copyrights has been placed in the hands of
attorneys.

..

An Agreement between Lois W and AAWS, Inc, was executed by Lois and John
Bragg (as president) on August 26, 1985, stipulating that: (1) Big Book
royalty payments will continue to be made as though the copyrights were
still in force; and (2) both AAWS and Lois (and her heirs) are released from
claims against the other for failure, if any, by AAWS, Inc or Bill W
(respectively) to apply for Big Book copyright renewal.

..

1988 - (1988 GSC-FR 32) contained the following under the report from AAWS:

..

Our copyright attorneys sent a letter to the publisher and Nan R, the
author, regarding her book "AA. -Inside Alcoholics Anonymous" which contains
excerpts from AA literature, the use of AA's trademark, and a violation of
the Twelfth Tradition. Due to lack of cooperation on the part of the author
and the publisher, we were advised by legal counsel to expeditiously take
all appropriate action with respect to trademark violation, including
litigation if necessary, regarding the book, which gives the impression it
is allied with AA and also threatens to be harmful to AA interests. As a
result some, but not all, objectionable features have been removed.

..

Agreed to renegotiate the renewal rights to As Bill Sees It once these
rights mature, and to discontinue negotiations with Lois W's attorney.

..

1988 - Oct 5, Lois W (age 97) co-founder of Al-Anon Family Groups, died.
(AACOA xi) Royalties passed to her surviving designated heirs who included
Dr Leonard Strong husband of Lois' sister-in-law Dorothy (Bill's sister), a
niece and nephew, Muriel Strong Morley and Leonard V Strong III, and
sisters-in-law Laura and Florence Burnham. Also listed were Nell Wing, Lois'
cousins Carol Lou Burnham, Ann Burhan Smith, Ann Walker, Dixon Walker and
Kate Knap plus Bill's cousins Jean Kalkoff and Barbara Palazari. 50% was
bequeathed to the Stepping Stones Foundation (to terminate on the later of
August 31, 1997 or 10 years after Lois' death).

..

1995 - (1995 GSC-FR 25) contained the following under the report from AAWS:
We discussed the proposal to settle with the recipients of our royalty
payments which would end our legal obligation to pay royalties. After
discussion, it was the consensus of the board that this would not be
beneficial at this point in time.

..

2007 - Based on data in final Conference Reports:

..

Cumulative royalties amounted to $656,095 up to Bill's death in January 1971
($4,151,978 in 2006 dollars). Cumulative royalties amounted to $9,063,985 up
to Lois' death in October 1988 ($23,259,233 in 2006 dollars). Cumulative
royalties from 1950 to 2007 totaled $19,148,182 ($37,117,034 in 2006
dollars).

..

Cheers

Arthur





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#5546

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:54 am
Subject: History of Royalties - Part 4

lefthanded_ny

Offline

The 1964 Conference Approved an agreement between Bill W, co-founder, and AA
World Services Inc covering royalties derived from Bill's writings.

..

Under the terms of the contract, a royalty of 15 per cent is paid to Bill,
except that no royalties are paid on "overseas editions." Royalties are to
be paid to Bill and Lois, his wife, during their lifetimes; following the
deaths of Bill and Lois, royalties revert in shares of royalties to living
heirs. These shares revert to AAWS upon the deaths of the beneficiaries. Not
more than 20 per cent may be bequeathed to any heir under the age of 40
years as of the date of the agreement between Bill and AAWS (April 29,
1963). The contract provides protection of royalties against "cheap books"
and protection of AAWS and Bill against fluctuations in general economic
conditions. AAWS retains the right of �first refusal" on any future literary
works of Bill's. (1964 GSC-FR 9, 37)

..

1967 - April, the US copyright to the first edition Big Book expired and was
not renewed. The oversight was not discovered until nearly 20 years later in
1985. It was also discovered in 1985 that the US copyright to new material
in the second edition Big Book had lapsed in 1983. It should be noted
however that the Big Book copyright has expired only in the US. It is still
in force outside the US under international treaty agreements. (NG 299, GSO)


..

1975 - The Ask It Basket for the Conference contained the question:

..

Q. Who receives the royalties from book sales? What did this amount to in
1974? In 1973?

..

A. They used to go to Bill, now go to heirs designated in his will. Amounts
are in your financial statements for 1973 and 1974. (1964 GSC-FR 40)

..

1978 - (1978 GSC-FR 43) contained the following: AA World Services, Inc, as
lessee, provides facilities for GSO and the Grapevine, both of which pay for
the space they occupy. As employer, AAWS pays GSO employees' salaries. And
as publisher, AAWS owns the copyrights on all Conference approved books and
literature. It pays Lois a royalty on the books Bill wrote. (This royalty
was Bill's only source of income from AA. He never received a salary.)

..

The Ask It Basket for the 1978 Conference contained the question:

..

Q Please explain the royalties on the AA books.

..

A The royalties agreement on the books Bill wrote are covered in a contract
between Bill and the board. The royalty is 15% of the retail price. The
contract provides that he could pass the royalties along to his widow, and
that she could pass them on to another family member who is over 40 years of
age at that time. Following the death of the family member, the royalties
cease to exist and the money reverts to AA. The dollar amount is reported
yearly in the Conference Report (see pg 50).

..

1980 - (1980 GSC-FR 31) contained the following:

..

Big Book tapes - We approved the price of $25. We sought legal counsel on
royalties and were advised that, as tapes were not covered in the original
contract between Bill W and the board, there is no legal obligation.
However, a moral obligation seemed t o exist. Lois W was consulted, and she
chooses to forgo any royalties for one year and then review the matter.

..

1983 - The copyright to the new material in the second edition Big Book
expired without being renewed. AAWS did not discover the oversight until
1985. (NG 299) (1983 GSC-FR 31) contained the following:

..

After discussion and thought by this board and by the trustees, we accepted
Lois W's proposal that the 1963 royalty agreement between Bill W and the
board be amended to permit her to bequeath part of her royalties to a
foundation for at least ten years after her death or until 1997, whichever
is later, and also a part to her nephew.

..

1984 - The Ask It Basket for the 1984 Conference contained the question: Q
Could you please explain the royalties being paid on our literature? (I) On
which pieces of literature do we pay royalties? (2) How much? (3) To whom?
(4) For how long? A (1) The royalties are paid on the books Bill W wrote and
are: Big Book; "AA Comes of Age," "As Bill Sees It," and "Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions." (2) - (4) The royalties are the result of an agreement
between AAWS and Bill W in 1963. Bill got 15% of the retail value of the
books, and Lois was to receive 13 �% of the retail value of the books, which
she still receives today. As of last year, under the terms of the agreement
between Bill and AAWS, Lois could, on a one-time basis, bequeath 80% of the
royalties to individuals who were age 40 or more in 1963. The remaining 20%
could be left to anyone at any age. This agreement has now been amended, and
Lois can leave the royalties to other than an individual, such as a
foundation to maintain Stepping Stones. However, any royalties Lois wills to
a foundation will terminate ten years after her death. All other royalties
will revert back to the board upon the demise of the recipient. (1984 GSC-FR
32)

..

1985 - AAWS discovered that the copyrights to the first and second edition
of the Big Book had expired. The copyright on the first edition lapsed in
1967. The copyright on new material in the second edition lapsed in 1983.
Both AAWS and the Wilson estate shared responsibility for copyright renewal.
(NG 299, www)

..

The Ask It Basket for the 1984 Conference contained the question: Q When and
by whom was it decided that Lois's royalties could and would be bequeathed
to the next generation, and when will the royalties become AA's totally, if
ever? A The royalties are paid on the books Bill W wrote, which are: The Big
Book; "AA Comes of Age," "As Bill Sees It," and "Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions" (two editions). The royalties are the result of an agreement
between AAWS and Bill W in 1963. Lois was to receive 13 �% of the retail
value of the books, which she still receives today. Under the terms of the
agreement between Bill and AAWS, Lois could, on a one-time basis, bequeath
80% of the royalties to individuals who were age 40 or more in 1963. The
remaining 20% could be left to individuals of any age. This agreement has
now been amended, and Lois can leave the royalties to other than an
individual, such as a foundation to maintain Stepping Stones. However, any
royalties Lois wills to a foundation will terminate ten years after her
death. All other royalties will revert back to the board upon the demise of
the recipient. In the amendment, Lois gives up the right to leave anything
to individuals younger than age 40 in 1963 except for an individual who was
a few months short of age 40 at that time. (1985 GSC-FR 32)

..





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#5545

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:53 am
Subject: History of Royalties - Part 3

lefthanded_ny

Offline

1961 - April 19-23, (NY City) the 11th Conference. Bill W asked the General
Service Board of Trustees to consider specific action, in respect of royalty
payments on textbook literature, to assure that co-Founder Bill and his
wife, Lois, may not suffer a possible loss of income in the future.

..

In a moving display of its affection for Bill as the surviving co-founder of
A. A. and for Lois, his wife, the Eleventh Conference suggested to the Board
of Trustees that changes be made in Bill's current royalty arrangement
involving A. A. textbooks to minimize the possibility that Bill's income
might be reduced in the future if cheaper editions of AA texts are ever
produced.

..

The action was occasioned by a general discussion of the advisability of
producing a "cheap edition" of the "Big Book". (See separate Policy page of
this report)

..

In the course of the discussion, Bill reviewed his financial arrangements
with the movement, pointing out that all his income derived from book
royalties and that he did not receive compensation for his non-writing
services to the Fellowship. He stressed that he was not interested in
accumulating a large estate but that he was concerned for the welfare of
Lois and certain immediate relatives and devoted friends who might require
assistance in the event of his passing. He said that he had already
deposited with the Trustees an informal "letter of intent" suggesting what
disposition might be made of royalties due his estate after his death.

..

While noting that the reduced royalties from paperback texts would
undoubtedly curtail his income, Bill repeated a pledge that he has given
previous Conferences. He said that if royalties under his present contract
should become "unseemingly large" he would reduce them voluntarily or permit
the movement to take the initiative in reducing them.

..

Trustee Dick S presented the following memorandum which was converted into a
motion from the floor and adopted unanimously: "The Conference recognizes
that the publication of cheap editions of AA books would probably reduce the
income to World Services, and Bill's personal income. This conference
unanimously suggests the following to the Trustees: To add a rider to Bill's
royalty contract to the effect that, if cheaper books are ever published,
Bill's royalties be increased by an amount sufficient to keep the royalty
income at the same average level it had been for the five years before
cheaper books were published; (further, that) as time goes on, if inflation
erodes the purchasing power of this income, the Trustees will adjust the
royalties to produce the same approximate purchasing power; this to be
effective during the lifetime of Bill and Lois and Bill's legatees." (PIO
393, 1961 GSC-FR 3, 7)

..

1963 - Bill W modified his royalty agreement with AAWS so that 10% of his
royalties went to his mistress, Grapevine Editor, Helen W. The agreement
provided Bill and Lois with a comfortable living on annual incomes between
$30,000 to $40,000 during the 1960's ($175,000 to $233,000 today). At the
time of Bill's death (1971) it was around $56,000 ($295,000 today). In the
1970's, royalties surged significantly and it made Lois W quite rich. (PIO
393, BW-FH 192-193, GB 69-70, WPR 72)

..

1964 - April 21-26, (NY City) the 14th Conference reported that it  reviewed
and approved an agreement between' Bill W, co-founder, and AA World Services
Inc covering royalties derived from Bill's writings. (The intent of the
agreement is to protect Bill, his wife, Lois, and their designated heirs,
while defining AAWS's position as the Society's publishing agency). (1964
GSC-FR 4)

..

A section of the Conference Report titled "Royalty Agreement On Bill's
Writings Approved" stated:

..

Of all the factors responsible for the growth of AA (and for the sobriety of
hundreds of thousands of men and women around the world), probably none is
more important than the movement's book literature. The three major texts -
"Alcoholics Anonymous," "The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" and "AA
Comes of Age" along with the service manual on The Twelve Concepts of
Service are likely to endure as keys to personal sobriety and Group
survival. All four publications have one thing in common; they were written
or edited by Bill W, surviving co-founder, and the copyrights to them were
assigned by Bill to the movement. The movement was thus assured ownership of
its basic publications, the income from which has also underwritten many of
the Society's world services.

..

For his services to AA over a period of nearly 30 years, Bill has never
received salary compensation from the movement. His only income has been
from royalties on his writings and editorial work. Because the earlier
royalty agreements made no provision for protecting Lois, Bill's wife, in
the event of Bill's death, and did not provide for a transfer of royalties
to relatives to whom Bill and Lois have obligations, the agreements have
been reviewed by the General Service Board in recent years.

..

As a result, the Board in April, 1963, concluded a new agreement with Bill
which was submitted to the 1964 Conference for review and approval. The new
agreement, outlined in the report of the Conference Finance Committee, was
approved unanimously by the Delegates.

..





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#5544

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:52 am
Subject: History of Royalties - Part 2

lefthanded_ny

Offline

1951 - April 20-22, (NY City) 37 United States and Canadian delegates (half
the planned number) convened at the Commodore Hotel as the first Panel of
the General Service Conference.

..

It was reported that the Trustees of the Foundation, following Dr. Bob's
death, had voted to increase Bill's royalty on the Big Book from 10 percent
to 15 per cent. .This author's royalty would also apply to other Books the
Trustees are anxious to have Bill prepare for their consideration in the
future. The chairman reported that Bill insisted that this increase be
approved by the General Service Conference. A motion approving the action of
the Trustees was approved unanimously by the Delegates. The Conference also
approved unanimously a motion recommending that steps be taken to insure
that Bill and Lois receive book royalties so long as either one shall live.
(1951 GSC-FR 12)

..

1952 - As he did in 1951, Bill reviewed with the delegates the financial
arrangements under which he now works, reminding them that his living is
derived from royalties on the book, "Alcoholics Anonymous." Should there be
an increase in his royalties as a result of the writing project he has set
for himself, Bill said, he would wish to take from them only "a good living,
not necessarily the full royalties his writings may earn. As a matter of
movement interest, Bill said, he hoped it would be agreeable if he had
discretion over the disposition of his excess royalties - not for personal
use, but for such matters as restitution to creditors and some provision for
the future of General Service Office employees who now have no form of
social security. Bill's presentation was approved in its entirety, upon
recommendation of the Conference Committee on Literature. (1952 GSC-FR 21)

..

1954 - The Alcoholic Foundation Board reported that it decided not to
accept, a royalty of $.25 per copy on sales of a book on The Twelve Steps,
which had been offered by the publishers. (1954 GSC-FR 17)

..

1955 - July 1-3, AA's 20th anniversary and 2nd International Convention was
held in St Louis' Kiel Auditorium. Bill W thanked the Convention attendees
for purchasing the Big Book because the royalties from it had provided him
and Lois with a home where they had seen more than 3,000 AA members over the
years. (AACOA 220, PIO 354, 357)

..

1957 - At the Conference, Bill read to the Delegates the following letter
addressed to Mr. Archibald B. Roosevelt, Treasurer of the General Service
Board:

..

Dear Archie:

..

As many are aware, I have long felt that my personal finances should always
be an open book to our membership. Ever since 1951, when the General Service
Conference first met, my book royalties and m y expense allowances have been
shown in each year's audit. This practice will of course be continued. This
year, however, I would like to make a full accounting for all monies
received by me from 1938, when the Alcoholic Foundation was created, to 1955
when, at St. Louis, the Conference and its General Service Board assumed
final responsibility for AA's world affairs.

..

This seventeen-year audit has been prepared by Mr. Wilbur Smith, our CPA,
and is here enclosed. Saving the small amounts 1 received as a result of Mr.
Rockefeller's 1940 dinner, it can be seen that m y whole income over those
years has derived only from AA Publishing activities. My other services to
the Headquarters were all volunteer.

..

I earnestly recommend that this detailed accounting be always shown to every
Conference Delegate on request; and further that a copy of this audit be
placed on permanent file at the New York Headquarters where, on request, it
can be read by any visiting AA member.

..

Ever yours,

..

Bill

..

P. S. I hope that the Conference sees fit to publish this letter each year
in its annual report.

..

1958 - April, (NY City) the 8th Conference. The status of Bill W, cofounder
of AA, in relation to the Fellowship was clarified in two respects at the
1958 Conference.

..

The first point of clarification was requested directly by Bill in a letter
to Delegates in which he pointed out that several future courses were open
to him, ranging from complete disassociation from AA service matters to
continuing participation in the number of unfinished projects which he feels
are important to the welfare of the movement.

..

On this point the Conference voted unanimously to ask Bill to provide
continuing leadership on all projects of movement wide concern in which he
is currently interested.

..

In a second vote, the Conference approved the action of the General Service
Board in re-assigning to Bill royalty rights in his three books (Alcoholics
Anonymous, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions and Alcoholics Anonymous Comes
of Age), and in books he may write in the future, for the duration of the
copyrights involved. Bill has declared his intention to have these royalty
rights revert to the movement when the copyrights expire. (1958 GSC-FR 7)

..





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#5543

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:51 am
Subject: History of Royalties - Part 1

lefthanded_ny

Offline

Source references for the postings are:

..

[AACOA-AA Comes of Age] -- [BW-FH-Bill W by Francis Hartigan] -- [DBGO-Dr
Bob and the Good Old-timers] -- [GB-Getting Better Inside Alcoholics
Anonymous by Nan R] -- [GTBT-Grateful to Have Been There by Nell Wing] --
[GSC-FR-General Service Conference-Final Report (identified by year)] --
[GSO-General Service Office-service pieces] -- [GSO-AC-General Service
Office Archives Collection] -- [Gv-Grapevine-identified by month and year]
-- [HIW-How It Worked by Mitchell K] -- [LOH-The Language of the Heart] --
[LR-Lois Remembers, by Lois W] -- [PIO-Pass It On, AAWS] -- SM-AA Service
Manual and Twelve Concepts for World Service] -- [www-Internet]

..

1938 - September, board Trustee Frank Amos arranged a meeting between Bill W
and Eugene Exman (Religious Editor of Harper Brothers publishers). Exman
offered Bill a $1,500 advance ($23,000) on the rights to the book. The
Alcoholic Foundation Board urged acceptance of the offer. Instead, Hank P
and Bill formed Works Publishing Co. and sold stock at $25 par value ($380
today). 600 shares were issued: Hank and Bill received 200 shares each, 200
shares were sold to others. Later, 30 shares of preferred stock, at $100 par
value ($1,500 today) were sold as well. To mollify the board, it was decided
that the author's royalty (which would ordinarily be Bill's) could go to the
Alcoholic Foundation. The newly formed Works Publishing Co would later come
to be known as AA World Services or AAWS. (LR 197, BW-FH 116-119, SM S6, PIO
193-195, AACOA 157, 188, HIW 99-104)

..

1940 - May 22, Works Publishing Co. was legally incorporated as a publishing
arm of the Alcoholic Foundation. Bill W and Hank P gave up their stock with
a stipulation that Dr Bob and Anne receive 10% royalties on the Big Book for
life. Hank was persuaded to relinquish his shares in exchange for a $200
payment ($3,000 today) for office furniture he claimed belonged to him.
(AACOA 189-190, LR 199, BW-FH 119, SM 11, PIO 235-236, GTBT 92, GSO-AC)

..

1941 - With the possibility of being recalled to active duty in the Army,
Bill W requested that he be granted a royalty on book sales to provide
financial support for his wife Lois. The board approved a 10% royalty. Prior
to this, Dr Bob was voluntarily giving Bill half the 10% royalty that he and
Anne were receiving. Bill W's 10% royalty became his sole source of income.
One exception to this occurred sometime in the mid-1940s when Bill's income
averaged $1,700 ($24,600 today) over seven years. The board made a grant to
Bill of $1,500 ($21,700 today) for each of the seven years for a total of
$10,500 ($152,000 today) out of which Bill purchased his Bedford Hills
house. (1951 GSC-FR 13)

..

1942 - October, Clarence S stirred up a controversy in Cleveland after
discovering that Dr Bob and Bill W were receiving royalties from Big Book
sales. (DBGO 267-269, BW-FH 153-154, AACOA 193-194) Bill and Dr Bob
re-examined the problem of their financial status and concluded that
royalties from the Big Book seemed to be the only answer to the problem.
Bill sought counsel from his spiritual sponsor, Father Edward Dowling, who
suggested that Bill and Bob could not accept money for 12th Step work, but
should accept royalties as compensation for special services. This later
formed the basis for Tradition 8 and Concept 11. Due to the amount of time
both co-founders dedicated to the Fellowship, it was impossible for either
of them to earn a living through their normal professions. (AACOA 194-195,
PIO 322-324)

..

1945 - The Alcoholic Foundation wrote to John D Rockefeller Jr and the 1940
dinner guests that AA no longer needed their financial help. Big Book
royalties could look after Dr Bob and Bill and group contributions could pay
the office expenses. If these were insufficient, the reserve accumulated out
of literature sales could meet the deficit. In total, Rockefeller and the
dinner guest donated $30,700 ($365,000 today) to AA. The donations were
viewed as loans and paid back out of Big Book income. This led to the
principle of being fully self-supporting declining all further outside
contributions and later formed the basis of Tradition 7. (AACOA 203-204)

..

1947 - August, in his Grapevine Traditions essay titled "Last Seven Years
Have Made AA Self-Supporting" Bill W wrote "Two years ago the trustees set
aside, out of AA book funds, a sum which enabled my wife and me to pay off
the mortgage on our home and make some needed improvements. The Foundation
also granted Dr Bob and me each a royalty of 10% on the book Alcoholics
Anonymous, our only income from AA sources. We are both very comfortable and
deeply grateful." (LOH 62-66)

..





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#5542

From: Glenn Chesnut <glennccc@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:41 pm
Subject: Part 3 of 3: Maxwell on the Washingtonians

glennccc

Offline

From: James Blair <jblair@...>�
(jblair at videotron.ca)

Part 3 of 3: Milton A. Maxwell,
"The Washingtonian Movement"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A number of factors led some of the churches to close their doors to the
Washingtonians. Class snobbishness was one of these - a fact which particularly
riled the lower class Washingtonians in those communities. Dacus (21) points out
that the vanity of some of the ministers may have led them to disdain the
movement, since they were neither its originators nor its leaders. Dacus
certainly is right that many of the ministers of that day held narrow views that
made them unsympathetic to Washingtonian principles. The most striking example
of this is the argument of the Rev. Hiram Mattison, Minister of the Methodist
Episcopal Church of Watertown, N.Y. as stated in a tract published in 1844:
FIRST - No Christian is at liberty to select or adopt any general system,
organization, agencies or means, for the moral reformation of mankind, except
those prescribed and recognized by Jesus Christ. But,
SECONDLY - Christ has designated his Church as his chosen organization; his
Ministers as his chosen ambassadors or public teachers; and his Gospel as the
system of truth and motives by which to reform mankind, Nor has he prescribed
any other means. Therefore,
THIRDLY - All voluntary organizations and societies, for the suppression of
particular vices, and the promotion of particular virtues, being invented by a
man without a divine model or command, and proceeding upon principles and
employing agencies, means and motives nor recognized in the Gospel, are
incompatible with the plan ordained of Heaven, and consequently superfluous,
inexpedient and dangerous (14).
Mr. Mattison's views, however, were not shared by many of the clergymen; nor
were the majority of the churches at odds with the Washingtonians. Almost all
"General Conventions of the Protestant Churches endorsed and encouraged the
movement (14)."
The writer agrees with Eddy (14) that, except for the attitudes of a few
extremists, "Washingtonianism was not an irreligious movement." The reasons for
its decline must lie elsewhere.
The lack of adequate organization is another frequently cited cause of the
decline of the movement. As Krout points out, there was no connection between
the various groups that carried on the work. "Each group was allowed to follow
its own course....As a result, systematic organization was impossible;
uniformity in methods was never attained; and chance largely determined the
formulation of principles (1)."
The lack of organization was first felt, however, with regard to the needs of
the newly reformed men for more social and economic support. This need was
adequately met by the original Baltimore society. Certainly the Boston society
was well organized to help the impoverished, to get them back on their feet, and
to give them adequate social support, and this seems also to have been the case
in Philadelphia and other places. But in some communities, notably in New York
City, "It was felt that these men who had been so under the power of the
drinking habit needed more care and fraternal fellowship than could be given by
so formal a society as the Washingtonians (10)." This led to the founding, on a
plan similar to that of the Rechabites in Great Britain, of the "Order of the
Sons of Temperance." Actually this order was founded by a group of
Washingtonians in New York City during the fall of 1842.
They had noticed that although the Washingtonian movement was making rapid
advance in new fields, there were already many falling away from the pledge, and
they desired if possible, to hit upon some new plan of operations, some more
perfect organization, one that should shield the members from temptation, and
more effectually elevate and guide them....(17).
It soon manifested an esprit du corps, which gathered into it a large portion of
their reformed; inasmuch as, on paying a small weekly or quarterly due, they
were sure of a useful remittance in case of sickness [$4.00 a week] or death
[$30.00]. An impressive indication gave the order impressiveness, brotherhood,
and attachment; and a regalia, a distinction from other temperance men. Soon
divisions and grand divisions were found springing up in every quarter. Old
temperance societies lost such of their members as were reformed men; and where
there was a revival of temperance [where Washingtonianism took hold], young
reformed converts were allured hither, often in large proportions....(13).
The order of Sons of Temperance grew rapidly. By 1850 it had 35 Grand Divisions,
5,563 Subordinate Divisions (local societies), and 232,233 members. Eventually
it became international, with a peak membership of 700,000. A later scribe of
the order said that it had been brought into existence "to preserve the fruits
of the Washingtonian movement." But one of its functional results was the
displacement of the Washingtonian societies.
This displacement of loyalties and membership was furthered by other orders. In
1845 the "Temple of Honor" was founded as a higher degree in the Order of the
Sons of Temperance. Separating from its parent body in 1846, it soon spread over
the United States and Canada, numbering "in its ranks thousands upon thousands
of the best and most influential citizens...(8)." "The cadets of Temperance" was
another order which sprang from the Sons of Temperance. Designed for youth, it
also became independent. There was an order for children, the "Bands of Hope."
In 1852 the largest fraternal temperance order of all, the "Independent Order of
Good Templars," was founded, with a prominent Washingtonian, Nathaniel Curtis,
as its first President. These orders, taking over most of the functions of the
Washingtonian movement and incorporating much of the membership under another
name, may be considered, from the sociological point of view, an institutional
consolidation of Washingtonianism. But they also account, to a considerable
extent, for the disappearance of the Washingtonian societies.
The chief causes of the decline of the Washingtonian movement are to be found,
however, in its relation to the general temperance movement. Its membership, its
purposes, and its ideology were inextricably mixed with the membership, purposes
and ideology of the temperance movement.
Even the Baltimore society did not confine its membership to the reclaimed
victims of alcoholism - nor did it lack an interest in the temperance movement.
And, outside of Baltimore, these early "Washingtonian missionaries" were
invariably sponsored by temperance organizations. When the power of the
Washingtonian approach to reclaimed drunkards was demonstrated - and when it was
shown that the reclaimed drunkards' experiences had the power to arouse great
interest in the cause of total abstinence, the temperance leaders threw
themselves behind the movement. Here was the answer to their prayers - something
that would revitalize the temperance movement.
The American Temperance Union and its executive secretary, John Marsh, in
introducing and promoting the Washingtonians, may indeed be given "much credit
for the success of the Washingtonians (12)." But in the last analysis, Marsh and
others looked upon Washingtonianism as a method, and Washingtonians as the
means, for "sparking" the temperance cause. That was their chief function. And
it appears that this eventually became the chief interest of Washingtonian
leaders themselves. Hawkins kept up the original Washingtonian emphasis of work
with alcoholics for a long time, but during the last dozen years of his life
(1846-58) most of his interest was centred in the larger temperance cause. John
B. Gough made a similar shift in emphasis.
Accordingly, then, when public interest in the distinctive Washingtonian
technique of experience-relating began to wane, the interest of Marsh and other
temperance leaders in Washingtonianism also declined. Lyman Beecher put it
bluntly: "...their thunder is worn out. The novelty of the commonplace narrative
is used up, and we cannot raise an interest..."(13). Marsh himself, from the
perspective of later years, spoke of the Washingtonian period as a phase of the
temperance movement, giving way to other methods.
Since Washingtonianism was identified with the relating of experiences by
reformed men, the displacement of this method was, to that extent, a
displacement of Washingtonianism itself.
Another fact which made temperance leaders lose interest in the Washingtonian
movement was its identification with the "moral suasion" point of view.
The temperance movement, up to the emergence of Washingtonianism, was not
characterized by advocacy of legal action to attain its ends. Some of the
leaders, however, had begun to voice the desirability of such action; the issue
was in the air. The success of the Washingtonian method of love and kindness in
dealing with alcoholics convinced many Washingtonians and others that this was
also the method to use with the makers and sellers of liquor. William K.
Mitchell, leader of the Baltimore group but also influential throughout the
country, was particularly insistent that Washingtonians ...should have nothing
to say against the traffic or the men engaged in it. He would have no pledge
even, against engaging in the manufacture or traffic in liquors; nor did he
counsel reformed men to avoid liquor-sellers' society or places of business. He
would even admit men to membership in his societies who were engaged in the
traffic (14).
Many of the Baltimore missionaries must have felt the same way and must have
advocated this idea wherever they went. Just as Washingtonian experience
"proved" the soundness of total abstinence, so Washingtonian experience "proved"
the validity of moral suasion. It was as simple as that, in the minds of many,
and was so expressed in a resolution presented at the Massachusetts State
Washingtonian Convention on May 26, 1842:
RESOLVED, That the unparalleled success of the Washingtonian movement in
reforming the drunkard, and inducing the retailer to cease his unholy traffic,
affords conclusive evidence that moral suasion is the only true and proper basis
of action in the temperance cause....(9).
Even at that date, Hawkins and a few others objected and had the resolution
modified on the grounds that moral suasion was an inadequate technique for the
dealing with "unprincipled dealers," and that the aid of the law was necessary.
Hawkins' view, however, was not shared by most Washingtonians. Marsh once
referred to Hawkins thus: "Though a Washingtonian, he was a strong
prohibitionist (13)." John B. Gough, because of his later advocacy of
prohibitory legislation, was accused of not being a Washingtonian.
When the general temperance sentiment began to favour legal action,
Washingtonian policy was dated and opposed. For a time, many temperance leaders
hardly knew whether to regard the Washingtonians as friends or enemies. Senator
Henry William Blair of New Hampshire, in 1888, referred back to this emphasis of
the Washingtonians on moral suasion as "a trace of maudlin insanity," - because
of which the temperance movement was left in a state worse than before, and as a
consequence of which "we have ever since been combating the absurd theory, which
is the favourite fortress of the liquor dealers, that evil is increased because
it is prohibited by law (22)."
When the relating of experiences began to pall, and when moral suasion was no
longer desired, there was nothing left to Washingtonia nism, ideologically,
except the reclaiming of drunkards. This, however, became an increasingly
secondary interest of those whose primary interest was the furtherance of the
temperance cause - and, without the telling of experiences, without the work of
alcoholics with alcoholics, and without certain other emotional by-products of
Washingtonian groups and activities, this became an increasingly difficult thing
to do. And, as fewer and fewer men were reclaimed, the last distinctive feature
of the Washingtonian movement dropped out of sight.
A review of various accounts of the Washingtonian movement makes it clear that
the movement turned into something which it did not start out to be - a revival
phase of the organized temperance movement. There are frequent references to the
movement as "a pledging revival," "a revival campaign," "a temperance revival."
The net result was a tremendous strengthening of total abstinence sentiment and
the actual enlistment of new millions in the temperance cause. But the original
purpose of rehabilitating alcoholics was lost to sight. Nor would it be proper
to blame the temperance movement for exploiting the Washingtonians. As E.M.
Jellinek5 has pointed out, the Washingtonian movement was not equipped with an
ideology distinctive enough to prevent its dissolution.5 Personal communication.
With this background, it becomes possible to make a comparison between the
Washingtonian movement and Alcoholics Anonymous.
COMPARISON WITH ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
It is apparent that the Washingtonian societies, when they were most effective
in the rehabilitation of alcoholics, had a great many similarities to Alcoholics
Anonymous. These similarities might be listed as follows:
1.�Alcoholics helping each other.
2.�The needs and interests of alcoholics kept central, despite mixed membership,
by predominance of numbers, control,or the enthusiasm of the movement.
3.�Weekly meetings.
4.�The sharing of experiences.
5.�The fellowship of the group or its members constantly available.
6.�A reliance upon the power of God.
7.�Total abstinence from alcohol.
Most Washingtonian groups probably failed to meet this ideal program, or to
maintain it for long. Even in itemizing the ideal program, some of the
differences between the Washingtonian groups and Alcoholics Anonymous stand out.
The admission of nonalcoholics as members and the incorporation of the
"temperance" purpose - the inducement of total abstinence in nonalcoholics - are
the most striking differences. Furthermore, at their best, the Washingtonian
groups possessed no understanding of alcoholism other than the possibility of
recovery through love and sympathy. Their approach to the problem of alcoholism
and alcohol was moralistic rather than psychological or therapeutic. They
possessed no program for personality change. The group had no resource of ideas
to help them rise above the ideational content locally possessed. Except for
their program of mutual aid they had no pattern of organization or activity
different from existing patterns. There was far too great a reliance upon the
pledge, and not enough appreciation of other elements in their program. Work
with other alcoholics was not required, nor was the therapeutic value of this
work explicitly recognized. There was no anonymity to keep the public from
becoming aware of broken pledges, or to keep individuals from exploiting the
movement for prestige and fame. Finally, there was not enough understanding of
their own therapeutic program to formulate it and thus help the new groups to
establish themselves on a sound and somewhat uniform basis.
The differences can be brought out more clearly by a more detailed, comparative
analysis of the Alcoholics Anonymous program - its principles, practices and
content.
1.�Exclusively alcoholic membership.- There are many therapeutic values in the
cohesiveness and solidarity which a group with a common problem can achieve. But
in the light of the Washingtonian experience, the greatest long-run value of an
exclusively alcoholic membership is that it permits and reinforces exclusive
attention to the rehabilitation of alcoholics.
2.�Singleness of purpose.- As stated in the masthead of an organizational
publication (23), Alcoholics Anonymous "is not allied with any sect,
denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in
any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is
to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety."
Nothing can divide groups more quickly - and certainly destroy the therapeutic
atmosphere effectively - than religious and political controversy. Strong
efforts were made in the Washingtonian movement to minimize sectarian,
theological and political differences, but the movement did not avoid attracting
to itself the hostile emotions generated by these conflicts. Even if it had been
more successful in this regard, it was still caught in all the controversy to
which the temperance cause had become liable. Not only that, but within the
temperance movement itself it eventually became stranded on the issue of moral
suasion versus legal action.
In the light of this experience, the position of Alcoholics Anonymous stands in
decided and hopeful contrast. In refusing to endorse or oppose causes, and
particularly the temperance cause, A.A. is avoiding the greatest handicap which
the Washingtonian movement had. Some temperance leaders may deplore that A.A.
does not give them support, but they have no grounds for complaining that they
are being opposed or hampered by A.A.
The A.A. program also contains a happy formula for avoiding the religious or
theological controversies which could easily develop even within the groups as
presently constituted. This is the use of the term "Power" (greater or higher),
and particularly the phrase "as we understood Him," in referring to this Power,
or God. The tolerance which this phrase has supported is an invaluable asset.
A further value of this single-minded concentration on the rehabilitation of
alcoholics is made obvious by the Washingtonian experience. Whenever, and as
long as, the Washingtonians were working hard at the reclamation of drunkards,
they had notable success and the movement thrived and grew. This would support
the idea that active outreach to other alcoholics is a factor in therapeutic
success and, at the same time, a necessary condition for growth - and even for
survival. Entirely aside from the matter of controversy, then, this singleness
of A.A. purpose is a condition of continued therapeutic success and survival.
3.�An adequate, clear-cut program of recovery.- Another great asset of
Alcoholics Anonymous is the ideology which forms the content and context of its
program of recovery, and which has received clear and attractive expression in
the book Alcoholics Anonymous (24) and in other A.A. literature.This ideology
incorporates the much sounder understanding of alcoholism which has been
developed in recent years. It is a pragmatic blend of that which scientific
research, dynamic psychology and mature religion have to offer; and through the
literature of the movement, the members are kept sympathetically oriented to the
developments in these fields.
Accordingly, instead of viewing alcoholism with a moralistic eye on alcohol - as
an evil which ought to be abandoned - A.A. sees alcoholism as an illness,
symptomatic of a personality disorder. Its program is designed to get at the
basic problem, that is, to bring about a change in personality.
This program is simply and clearly stated in the Twelve Steps - augmented by the
"24 hour program" of abstaining from alcohol, and the supporting slogans and
emphases such as "First things first," "Live and let live," "Easy does it,"
"Keep an open mind," honesty, humility, and so forth. Great stress is also put
upon regular attendance at the group meetings, which are characterized by the
informal exchange of experiences and ideas and by a genuinely satisfying
fellowship.
Compared to the Washingtonian brand, the A.A. sharing of experiences is notably
enriched by the psychological insights which have been brought into the group by
A.A. literature and outside speakers. A thorough analysis and catharsis is
specifically asked for in the Twelve Steps - as well as an improvement in
relations to other persons. Work with other alcoholics is required, and the
therapeutic value accruing to the sponsor of new members is distinctly
recognized. The spiritual part of the program is more clearly and inclusively
defined, more soundly based, and more frankly made an indispensable condition of
recovery.
It appears, furthermore, that the A.A. group activity is more satisfactory to
the alcoholic than was the case in many Washingtonian societies. A.A. members
seem to find all the satisfaction and values in their groups that the founders
of the various orders thought were lacking in the Washingtonian groups.
A decided Washingtonian weakness was its general lack of follow-through. In
contrast, A.A. is particularly strong on this point, providing a potent
follow-through in a group setting where self-analysis and catharsis are
stimulated; where new attitudes toward alcohol, self and others are learned;
where the feeling tones are modified through a new quality of relationships;
where, in short, a new way of life is acquired - one which not only enables the
person to interact with his environment (particularly with other persons)
without the use of alcohol, but enables him to do so on a more mature,
satisfying basis.
No doubt a similar change occurred in many (though probably not in most) of the
alcoholic Washingtonians, but it was more by a coincidence, within and without
the societies, of circumstances that were rarely understood and never formulated
into a definite, repeatable program. A.A. is infinitely better equipped in this
respect.
4.�Anonymity.- A comparison with the Washingtonian experience underscores the
sheer survival value of the principle of anonymity in Alcoholics Anonymous. At
the height of his popularity, John B. Gough either "slipped" or was tricked by
his enemies into a drunken relapse. At any rate, the opponents of the
Washingtonian movement seized upon this lapse with glee and made the most of it
to hurt Gough and the movement. This must have happened frequently to less
widely known but nevertheless publicly known Washingtonians. Public confidence
in the movement was impaired. Anonymity protects the reputation of A.A. from
public criticism not only of "slips" but also of failures, internal tensions,
and all deviant behaviour.
Equally important, anonymity keeps the groups from exploiting prominent names
for the sake of group prestige; and it keeps individual members from exploiting
their A.A. connection for personal prestige or fame. This encourages humility
and the placing of principles above personalities. Such behaviour not only
generates outside admiration of A.A. but has therapeutic value for the
individual members. There are further therapeutic values in anonymity: it makes
it easier for alcoholics to approach A.A., and it relaxes the new member. It
encourages honest catharsis and utter frankness. It protects the new member from
the critical eyes of certain acquaintances while he experiments with this new
way of life, for fumbling and failure will be hidden.
5.�Hazard-avoiding traditions.- Another decisive contrast to the Washingtonian
movement is the development in Alcoholics Anonymous not only of a relatively
uniform program of recovery but also of relatively uniform traditions for
avoiding the usual hazards to which organizations are subject.
In Alcoholics Anonymous there is actually no overhead authority. Wherever two or
three alcoholics get together to attain sobriety on the general basis of the
Twelve Step program they may call themselves an A.A. group. They are free to
conduct their activities as they see fit. As would be expected in a fellowship
of independent groups, all kinds of practices and policies have been tried. A
careful reading of the A.A. publication, A.A. Tradition (25), will reveal how
great the variety has been, here and there. Membership has been limited. Conduct
of groups has been undemocratic. Leaders have exploited the groups for personal
prestige. The principle of anonymity has been violated. Personal and
jurisdictional rivalries have developed. Money, property and organizational
difficulties have disrupted A.A. groups. Members and groups, yielding to their
own enthusiasms and reflecting the patterns of other institutions around them,
have endangered the immediate and ultimate welfare of the A.A. fellowship. These
deviations could have been serious had there not existed a considerable
uniformity in practice and principle.
In the early days of A.A., the entire fellowship was bound together by a chain
of personal relationships - all created on the basis of a common program, a
common spirit and a common tradition. This spirit and this pragmatically
achieved program and tradition were the only guiding principles, and relative
uniformity was not difficult. Alcoholics Anonymous was just a fellowship -
small, informal, poor and unpretentious. But with growth, prosperity and
prestige, the difficulties of getting all groups and members to see the value of
these guiding principles increased. A self-conscious statement and explanation
was needed - and this finally emerged in 1947 and 1948 in the "Twelve Points of
Tradition,"elaborated upon in editorials in The A.A. Grapevine (23) and
subsequently published as a booklet (25).
In formulating and stating the reasons for these traditions, Bill W., one of the
founders, has continued the extremely valuable function which he, Dr. Bob and
other national leaders have performed - that of keeping intact the experienced
based program and principles of A.A.
Perhaps as important as any other is the tradition of keeping authority in
principles rather than letting it become vested in offices and personalities.
This tradition is supported by the related principle of rotating leadership, and
the concept that leaders are merely the trusted servants of the group or groups.
The hazard-avoiding values of these traditions are obvious.
The tradition that membership be open to any alcoholic has value in countering
the tendency toward exclusiveness, class-consciousness, cliquishness - and it
helps to keep the groups focussed on their main job of helping the "alcoholic
who still suffers."
The tradition of complete self-support of A.A. groups and activities by the
voluntary contributions of A.A. members avoids the dangers inherent in fixed
dues, assessments, public solicitations, and the like - and it is conducive to
self-reliance and self-respect. Furthermore, in minimizing money it maximizes
fellowship.
The tradition that "any considerable property of genuine use to A.A. should be
separately incorporated and managed" is important in keeping the A.A. groups
from becoming entangled in the problems of property beyond the minimum necessary
for their own functioning. The tradition of "the least possible organization"
has a similar value. These last three traditions might be summed up as
precautions against the common tendency to forget that money, property and
organization are only means - and that means find their rightful place only when
the end is kept clearly in view. For A.A., these traditions should help to keep
the groups concentrated on their prime purpose: helping alcoholics recover.
The existence of these traditions - and their clear formulation - are assets
which the Washingtonian movement never possessed.
What prognosis for Alcoholics Anonymous is suggested by this comparison with the
Washingtonian movement?
The least that can be said is that the short life of the Washingtonian movement
simply has no parallel implications for A.A. Despite certain but limited
similarities in origins, purpose and early activities, the differences are too
great to draw the conclusion of a similar fate for A.A.
Are the differences, then, of such a nature as to assure a long life for
Alcoholics Anonymous? This much can be said with assurance of consensus: (A) In
the light of our present-day knowledge, A.A. has a sounder program of recovery
than the Washingtonians achieved. (B) A.A. has avoided many of the
organizational hazards which plagued the Washingtonian societies. The success
and growth of A.A. during more than a decade of public life, its present vigour
and its present unity underscore these statements and augur well for the future.
In the writer's judgment, based on a systematic study (26) of A.A., there is no
inherent reason why A.A. should not enjoy an indefinitely continued existence.
How long an existence will depend upon how well the leaders and members continue
to follow the present program and principles - that is, how actively A.A.
members will continue to reach out to other alcoholics; how thoroughly the
remainder of the A.A. program will continue to be practiced, particularly the
steps dealing with catharsis and the spiritual aspects; and, how closely all
groups will be guided by the present traditions.
Finally, the writer would suggest that the value in the traditions lies chiefly
in the avoidance of factors that can easily interfere with keeping the ideal
therapeutic atmosphere found in the small A.A. groups at their best. Most of the
personality change necessary for recovery from alcoholism occurs in these small
groups - and that work is at its very best when there is a genuinely warm,
nonegocentric fellowship. How well this quality of fellowship is maintained in
the small, local groups is offered, therefore, as another condition determining
how bright the future of A.A. will be.
Whatever the worth of these judgments, they point up the potential value to A.A.
of careful, objective research on these and related conditions. This would give
Alcoholics Anonymous another asset that the Washingtonians never had.

REFERENCES

1.�Krout,J.A. The Origins of Prohibition. New York; Knopf, 1925.
2.�Rush,Benjamin. An Inquiry Into the Effects of Ardent Spirits on the Human
Body and Mind. [1785]
3.�Beecher, Lyman. Six Sermons On the Nature, Occasion, Signs, Evils, and Remedy
of Intemper- ance. New York. American Tract Society, 1827.
4.�Fehlandt, A.F. A Century of Drink Reform in the United States. Cincinnati;
Jennings and Graham; and New York, Eaton & Mains, 1904.
5.�Permanent Temperance Documents of the American Temperance Society; Vol.1
Boston; Seth Bliss, 1835.
6.�One Hundred Years of Temperance. A Memorial Volume of the Centennial
Temperance Confer ence Held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September, 1885. New
York; National Temperance Society & Publication House, 1886.
7.�Annual Reports of the Executive Committee of the American Temperance Union,
1840-1849.
8.�Harrison, D. A Voice from the Washingtonian Home. Boston; Redding & Co.,
1860.
9.�Hawkins, W.G. Life of John W. Hawkins. Boston, Dutton, 1863.
10.�Banks, L.A. The Lincoln Legion. New York; Mershon Co., 1903.
11.�Gough, J.B. Autobiography and Personal Recollections. Springfield, Mass.;
Bill, Nichols & Co.,1869.
12.�Wooley, J. G. and Johnson, W.E. Temperance Progress in the Century. London;
Linscott Publish ing Co., 1903.
13.�Marsh,J. Temperance Recollections. New York; Scribner, 1866.
14.�Eddy,R. Alcohol and History. New York; National Temperance Society &
Publication House, 1887.
15.�Cherrington, E.H. The Evolution of Prohibition in the United States of
America. Westerville, Ohio; American Issue Press, 1920.
16.�Cyclopedia of Temperance and Prohibition. New York; Funk & Wagnalls, 1891.
17.�Crothers, T.D. Inebriety. Cincinati; Harvey, 1911.
18.�Sellers,J.B. The Prohibition Movement in Alabama, 1702-1943. Chapel Hill,
Univ. North Carolina Press, 1943.
19.�Grosh, A.B. ed. Washingtonian Pocket Companion. Utica, N.Y., S.S. Merrell;
Bennett, Backus & Hawley; & G. Tracy, 1842.
20.�Daniels, W.H. The Temperance Reform and Its Great Reformers. New York;
Nelson & Phillips, 1878.
21.�Dacus, J.A. Battling with the Demon. St. Louis; Scammel & Co., 1878.
22.�Blair, H.W. The Temperance Movement. Boston; William E. Smythe Co., 1888.
23.�The A.A. Grapevine. New York; A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
24.�Alcoholics Anonymous. New York; Works Publishing Co., 1939.
25.�A.A. Tradition. New York; Works Publishing Co., 1947.
26.�Maxwell, M.A. Social Factors in the Alcoholics Anonymous Program. Doctoral
Dissertation, U. of Texas, 1949.

#5541

From: Glenn Chesnut <glennccc@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:40 pm
Subject: Part 2 of 3: Maxwell on the Washingtonians

glennccc

Offline

From: James Blair <jblair@...>�
(jblair at videotron.ca)

Part 2 of 3: Milton A. Maxwell,
"The Washingtonian Movement"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DURATION OF THE MOVEMENT

How long the Washingtonian movement continued in full force is a difficult
question to answer. The most dramatic strides were made between the summers of
1841 and 1842, but apparently the peak of activity was reached in 1843. That
year, Gough was touring New England, and Hawkins northern and western New York
as well as sections of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. R.P. Taylor was doing
effective work in Georgia. Late that autumn Hawkins campaigned in North Carolina
and Georgia, stimulating great Washingtonian activity in that region. It was a
year of high activity, with the major portion of the work carried on, as it was
through most of the life of the movement, by numerous Washingtonians whose names
are unrecorded.
On May 28,1844, in Boston, the Washingtonians were the sponsors of , and leading
participants in, the largest temperance demonstration ever held, up to that
time, with nearly 30,000 members of various temperance organizations
participating. Governor George N. Briggs, William K. Mitchell and John B. Gough
were the leading speakers.
In the fall of 1845 Hawkins began one of his most intensive campaigns, in Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois, winding up in the spring of 1846 with very successful
meetings in New Orleans and Mobile. During this 8-month period Hawkins not only
spoke daily but also directed the work of many assistants and helped, as he
always did, to organize societies to continue the work. In much of the territory
covered by Hawkins on this campaign the Washingtonian movement was still at full
tide in 1845 and 1846. This tends to corroborate the generalization of Wooley
and Johnson that "for four years it continued to sweep the country." But in some
of the cities which had been reached by the movement in 1841, a decline had
already set in.
In New York City the Sons of Temperance, a total abstinence order which had been
founded with the help and blessing of Washingtonians, had begun, late in 1842,
to receive into its membership many Washingtonians. Slowly but increasingly it
displaced the function of the Washington societies.
In Cincinnati, in January 1845, Lyman Beecher wrote to John Marsh about the
"resurgence of the liquor tide" and of the need for a new type of temperance
appeal. He thought that "though the Washingtonians have endured and worked well,
their thunder is worn out"(13).
Fehlandt (4) states that "By 1843...interest began to wane, and soon
Washingtonianism had spent its force." It might be correct to say that the first
signs of waning interest appeared in 1843 but it is not probable that such signs
were detectable in most areas before 1844 - and in some areas not until latter.
Hence, no generalization seems to apply to the entire country.
Most significant as an index of general interest are the references to the
Washingtonian movement in the annual Reports of the executive committee of the
American Temperance Union, published in May of each year. The 1842 Report
enthusiastically details the spread of the movement. The 1843 Report reflects
continued enthusiasm. The 1844 Report notes that the movement "has continued
through its fourth year with as much interest as could be expected." The 1845
Report contains news of the crowded weekly meetings and increased success of the
Hartford, Conn., Washington Temperance Society, but there is also expressed the
feeling of John Marsh that the movement "has in a considerable measure spent its
force." In the 1846 Report the movement is referred to as "once so deeply
enlisting the sympathies." In the 1847 Report it is admitted that "The
reformation of drunkards has not, as in former years, formed a prominent part of
the year now past." The 1848 Report contains no mention of the Washingtonian
movement at all.
Hawkins, Gough and others were called Washingtonians to the end of their lives,
but there is no record, to the writer's knowledge, of organized Washingtonian
activity beyond 1847 except in the Boston area.*3* There in March 1847, the
Washingtonians of New England held a large convention. In January 1848 the
Boston Washington Society reported having 56,380 signatures since the date of
its founding in 1841. According to Harrison (8), writing in 1860, the Boston
society continued to exist and meet weekly up to 1860, at which time 70,000
signatures were claimed. In 1858 the Home for the Fallen, using Washingtonian
principles in the rehabilitation of alcoholics, was in existence in Boston.*4*
But in other parts of the country, by 1858, there were to be found references to
"the early days" when Washingtonianism swept the country.
______________________________

*3* The writer has since learned of the existence of the Washingtonian Home in
Chicago, founded in 1863 by members of the Order of Good Templars who may well
have been Washingtonians. This institution is still engaged exclusively in the
rehabilitation of alcoholics.
*4* This institution has been in continuous existence to the present time,
having undergone a number of changes in name and in policy. It is now known as
the Washington Hospital and engages in the treatment of alcoholism by
contemporary medical and social techniques.
______________________________

NUMERICAL SUCCESS

How many persons became members of the Washingtonian societies? There is no
satisfactory answer to this question. The statistics that are available are
varied, contradictory and, hence, unreliable; furthermore, they are given on two
different bases - the number who signed the total abstinence pledge, and the
number of drunkards reclaimed. Neither of these coincides with the membership of
Washingtonian societies.
Several sources(12,14) repeat the American Temperance Union estimate (7) that by
1843, 5,000,000 had signed the total abstinence pledge and were associated with
over 10,000 local societies. Since only 350,000 such signers had been claimed in
1839 (15), this would mean a gain of over 4,500,000 as a result of the
Washingtonian "pledge-signing revival." This would represent nearly one-fourth
of the total U.S. population aged 15 years and over. When it is considered, as
E.M. Jellinek has estimated, that for the population aged 15 years and older the
per capita consumption of distilled spirits decreased by only 14.3 per cent
(form 4.9 gallons) between 1840 and 1850, some doubt is thrown upon the validity
of this estimate. Marsh himself, in 1848, revised his estimate of total
abstainers downward to 4,000,000 (7). Even this number points to the probability
that a large percentage of the pledge signers were under the age of 15.
Furthermore, since the signers belonged to all kinds of temperance societies, it
is impossible to estimate what percentage, or how many, were enrolled in
Washingtonian societies.
In attempting to estimate the number of alcoholics reclaimed by the
Washingtonian movement, more difficulties are encountered. The major one is the
fact that all the societies had mixed memberships - former teetotallers (often
children), moderate drinkers, excessive drinkers, and confirmed alcoholics.
Nevertheless, estimates have been made and the claims vary from 100,000 (12) to
600,000. The latter figure, often repeated, seems to be based on the 1843 Report
(7) of the American Temperance Union, in which it stated that: "A half-million
hard drinkers often drunken, and a hundred thousand sots...may safely be
considered as having been brought to sign the total abstinence pledge within the
last two years." Wooley and Johnson (12) state: "It is commonly computed that at
least one hundred thousand common drunkards were reclaimed in the crusade and at
least three times as many common tipplers became total abstainers." This seems
to be based on Eddy (14), who in turn seems to be quoting an American Temperance
Union estimate that, by the summer of 1842, "the reformation had included at
least 100,000 common drunkards, and three times that number of tipplers who were
in a fair way to become sots."
One chief difficulty resides in the employment of an undefined terminology,
including "hard drinkers often drunken;" "confirmed drinkers;" "drunkard;"
"common drunkard;" "conformed drunkard;" "inebriate;" "sot;" "tippler;" "common
tippler;" and "tipplers in a fair way to become sots." What do these terms mean
and how were they distinguished from each other?
Ignoring the loose use of these terms, for the moment, and turning to the
percentage of reclaimed inebriates in Washingtoniansocieties, a great variety of
claims is to be noted. Eight months after its beginning the Baltimore society
claimed that two-thirds of their 300 members were reclaimed drunkards(9). At the
close of 1841 it was claimed that 100,000 pledges had been taken as a result of
Washingtonian activity, "more than one-third by confirmed drinkers"(16). But in
the statistics offered by the same source, and for the same period of time, by
the vigorous Cincinnati Washington society, only 900 (11.3 per cent) of the
8,000 members were said to have been reformed drunkards. A Battleboro, Vt.,
report stated: "We have 150 members already in our Washington Society, six or
seven hard cases." This comes to four or five per cent. Of the 42,273 pledged
members in 82 Vermont towns cited in the 1844 Report, only 518 (1.2 per cent)
were reformed drunkards probably varied greatly from community to community -
and probably varied at different times even in the same society.
Since the American Temperance Union records are the chief source of information
for later historians, some weight may be given to John Marsh's later estimate
(13) that 150,000 drunkards were permanently rescued as a result of
Washingtonian activity. But when his 1843 estimate of "A half million hard
drinkers often drunken, and a hundred thousand sots" is recalled, it is
impossible not to be suspicious of his estimates - and particularly of his use
of terms. The number may well have been less than 150,000, and it may well have
included everything from "confirmed drinkers," to "hard drinkers often drunken"
to "common drunkards" to "sots." What are the numbers of true alcoholics was, is
anyone's guess.
But if there is uncertainty concerning the number of alcoholics temporarily
helped or permanently rehabilitated - or the number of persons who became total
abstainers - there is no question that the movement made a tremendous impact.
Its results, furthermore, were not short-lived. Within the temperance there was
not only a decided gain of strength but also the opening of "the way for more
advanced thought and effort...(14)." As for the problem of alcoholism, some
permanent though limited gain resulted. Dr. T.D. Crothers, a leading
psychiatrist of his time, wrote in 1911:
The Washingtonian movement...was a great clearing house movement, breaking up
old theories and giving new ideas of the nature and character of inebriety. It
was literally a sudden and intense projection of the ideas of the moral side of
inebriety, into public thought, and while it reacted when the reform wave died
out, it served to mobilize and concentrate public attention upon the question,
of how far the inebriate could control his malady, and what efforts were needed
to enable him to live temperately. This first practical effort to settle these
questions was the beginning of the organization of lodging houses for the
members of the societies who had failed to carry out the pledges which they had
made. This was really the beginning of the hospital system of cure, and was the
first means used to give practical help to the inebriate, in a proper home, with
protection, until he was able to go out, with a degree of health and hope of
restoration (17).

ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE

As has been indicated, the Washingtonian movement took organized form in the
thousands of local total abstinence societies which, almost without exception,
had a mixed membership of former teetotallers and moderate drinkers as well as
inebriates of various degrees. This was the pattern set by the original
Baltimore society. A large percentage of these societies, presumably, were new
societies carrying the Washington name. Many were old societies, reorganized and
renamed. But often the work was carried on in societies already in existence,
without any change in name. Hawkins, it will be recalled, became the paid
secretary of the Massachusetts Temperance Society. Nevertheless, he was active
in the Boston Washington society. There seemed, at the time, to be no
organizational rivalry, and that must have been true in many communities
throughout the years of the movement. In Alabama, Sellers (18) states, "This
organization [Washingtonian] was never an
  independent unit, but was attached to temperance societies already existing."
On the other hand, rivalry and mutual resentment between the "old" and the "new"
societies did develop in many communities. Even in Boston, in the demonstration
in which so many societies of all types participated in May 1844, the old
Massachusetts Temperance Society and the old Massachusetts Temperance Union did
not take part (1). Krout summarizes the difficulties that developed between the
Washingtonians and the older societies in many communities:
Under the compulsion of popular demand many of the old societies had employed
Washingtonian speakers to revive a waning interest, but they had been
disappointed that the new pledge-signers could seldom be persuaded to join
existing organizations. Wherever Washingtonian workers conducted campaigns, it
was necessary either to form a new society officered by reform men, or to
convert the old group into a Washingtonian abstinence society. To some who had
laboured long in temperance work...it appeared...that the Washingtonians had no
interest in the triumphs of the struggle prior to 1840. The younger movement
seemed to be unwilling to learn anything from the older. Its membership scoffed
at the methods and principles formerly held in esteem...The old leaders were
being set aside. Any Tom, Dick or Harry could direct the course of the reform.
Washingtonian "Heralds," "Standards" and "Advocates" were springing up
everywhere, and then expiring from lack of funds.
  Their existence was too often marked by unpleasant controversies with other
temperance periodicals. The Washingtonians, on the other hand, charged that the
older societies refused to co-operate with them...(1).
Further evidence of this distrust and cleavage, as well as of the differences in
organization, was given in the Washingtonian Pocket Companion (19), published in
Utica, N.Y., in 1842:
Some societies make uniting with them, a virtual renunciation of all membership
with any other temperance societies...This is because the principles of the old,
and of our societies, differ so widely - and also to prevent the old societies
from subverting ours...
Some societies take none but those who have lately made, sold, or used
intoxicating liquors - others receive all except children under a certain age -
others receive even children with the consent of their parents or guardians.
Some societies omit that part of the pledge which relates to the "Making and
selling, directly or indirectly," and pledge to total abstinence from using,
only. They think it a benefit to bring the maker and vender into the society
first, and then induce them to give up their business.
In some cases, the female members of our societies act as a Benevolent Society,
within, or in co-operation and fellowship with us. In others, the ladies form
separate and distinct societies. Their names are numerous...(19).
Even though no uniformity of organization or procedure prevailed, yet a minimum
of common pattern ran throughout the movement. This might be said to be (A) the
reclamation of inebriates by "reformed drunkards" - employing the "principle of
love" and the total abstinence pledge; and (B) having reformed drunkards telling
their experiences for the dual purpose of reaching the drunkard and winning
others to the total abstinence pledge.
The Baltimore pattern, very effectively reproduced in Boston under the guidance
of Hawkins, seemed to have been the ideal pattern which the majority of
Washingtonian groups approximated in varying degrees. Since records of the
Boston operations have been preserved, the organization and procedure of that
society will be given in some detail.
The aggressive missionary work of carrying Washingtonianism into 160 New England
towns during the first 3 months of the Boston society's existence has been
noted. Of even greater interest are the details of the work with alcoholics,
during this same period, as related by Samuel F. Holbrook, the first president
of the society:
The Washington Total Abstinence Society was organized on the 25th of April,
1841. On the evening of its formation the officers elected were a president, two
vice-presidents, a corresponding secretary, and a treasurer; after which there
were chosen twenty-four gentlemen to serve as ward committee, whose duty it was
to pick up inebriates, induce them to sign the pledge of total abstinence, and
forsake all places where intoxicating drink was to be had, and also to visit the
families of the reformed and administer to their wants.
It now became necessary to have a place exclusively our own, where we could
bring the unfortunate victim of intemperance, nurse him, and converse with him,
and obtain his signature to the pledge;...[We] were led to Marlboro Chapel. We
obtained Hall No. 1 for a business and occasional lecture room, and the chapel
for a public meeting once a week. Hall No. 1 was furnished with newspapers from
various towns, as well as nearly all the publications of our own city. A table
prepared, and the seats were arranged in the form of a reading room; a fountain
of cold water and a desk containing the pledge occupied another part of the
room.
Our pledge, for the first week, had two hundred and eighteen names; and then, as
if by magic, the work commenced. And I think it is doubtful if in the annals of
history there is any record of a work of such a nature and progressing with so
much silence, and yet so sure in its advance. Surely it is the work of the
omnipotent God...
The gentlemen acting as ward committees were filled with unexampled zeal and
perseverance in the performance of their duties; leaving their own business in
order to hunt up the drunkard;...So attentive were they to this voluntary duty
that in a fortnight we had four hundred names on our pledge; families in all
directions were assisted, children sent to school decently clad, employment
obtained for the husband, the countenance of the wife assumed a cheerful and
pleasing aspect; landlords grew easy, and in fact everything relating to the
circumstances of the reformed inebriate had undergone a complete change for the
better...
The reeling drunkard is met in the street, or drawn out from some old filthy
shed, taken by the arm, spoken kindly to, invited to the hall, and with
reluctance dragged there, or carried in a carriage if not too filthy; and there
he sees himself surrounded by friends, and not what he most feared - police
officers; everyone takes him by the hand; he begins to come to and when sober
sign the pledge, and goes away a reformed man. And it does not end there. The
man takes a pledge, and from his bottle companions obtains a number of signers,
who likewise become sober men. Positively, these are facts. Now, can any human
agency alone do this? All will answer No; for we have invariably the testimony
of vast numbers of reformed men, who have spoken in public and declared they
have broken off a number of times, but have as often relapsed again: and the
reason they give for doing this is that they rely wholly on the strength of
their resolution without looking any higher; but now they feel the need of God's
assistance, which having obtained, their reform is genuine...(8).
Holbrook also made some interesting comparisons with the attitudes and methods
of the older temperance societies:
...As for reclaiming the drunkard, that was entirely out of the question; they
must and will die shortly, and now our business is to take care of the rising
generation. And when the hard working women complained of her drunken husband,
the reply was, and from all feeling of good, to, O send him to the house of
correction, or poor house, immediately, and then we will do what we can for you
and your children. Now the great difficulty was that our temperance friends
were, generally, men in higher circles of life, who would revolt at the idea of
taking a drunkard by the arm in the street and walk with him to some place where
he could be made sober and receive friendly advice. If the drunken man was
noticed at all, he was taken aside from under the horses' feet, and perhaps put
into some house and there left...But the method of reclaiming the apparently
lost inebriate, such as the Washington Total Abstinence Society has adopted,
never entered their heads; it was not thought of until our society was formed.
Then some twenty or thirty drunkards came forward and signed the total
abstinence pledge and related their experience, and this induced others to do
the same; and then the work of reform commenced in good earnest(8).
The "Auditor's Report" contains additional information on the activities of the
Boston society during its first 3 months. After reporting the receipt of
$2,537.10, one barrel of pork, four hams, and a considerable quantity of
second-hand clothing, he referred to the system they had adopted "of boarding
out single persons and assisting the inebriate and his family who had homes."
In addition to not less than one hundred and fifty persons boarded out [in
"three good boarding-houses, kept by discreet members of the society"], two
hundred and fifty families have been more or less benefited. Families the most
wretched have been made comfortable; by our exertions many families that were
scattered have been reunited; fathers, sons, and brothers have been taken from
the houses of correction and industry, from the dram shops, and from the lowest
places of degradation, restored and brought back again under the same roof, made
happy, industrious, and temperate...Our society at present numbers about 4,000
members...[about] one third...heads of families...(8).
Harrisson rounds out the first 2 years' history of the Boston society:
For the space of two years after its organization the meetings of the society
were held in Marlboro' Chappel, while the lodging rooms connected therewith were
located in Graphic Court, opposite Franklin Street. From there they removed to
No. 75 Court Street...They also fitted up rooms under their hall for the
temporary accommodations of reformed, or rather, reforming men. They soon again
removed to rooms which they procured and fitted up in Broomfield Street...
During the first two years of its existence the officers and members of the
society held weekly meetings in six different localities in the city of Boston,
namely: in North Bennett Street, Milton Street, Washington Place, East Street,
Common Street, and Hull Street...(8).
Another glimpse of the activities of this society, 4 years after its founding,
is provided in a memorial petition presented to the State Legislature in 1845:
....From the period of its formation to the present time, it has sustained a
commodious hall for holding public meetings...Large numbers of persons, in
various stages of intoxication and destitution, who have been found in the
streets and elsewhere, have been led to the Washingtonian Hall, where they have
been kindly received, and their necessary wants supplied. The amount of service
which has been rendered within the last four years, by this society, cannot be
readily appreciated. A multitude of men who, by intemperance, had been shut out
from the friendly regard of the world, found in the hall of the Washingtonians,
for the time being, a comfortable asylum; and these men departed thence to
resume their position as useful citizens. About 750 such persons have found a
temporary home at Washingtonian Hall, during the year just closed, nearly all of
whom, it is believed, are now temperate and industrious members of society(8).
4 As already noted, this society reported having received 56,380 members up to
January 1848. According to Harrisson, the central meetings were held each week
uninterrupted at least to 1860. Whether an "Asylum" for inebriates was
maintained during the intervening years, the writer cannot ascertain. But in
1858 a "home for the Fallen," representing perhaps a renewal of activities, was
being maintained on Franklin Place. It was moved to 36 Charles Street in 1860
and renamed the "Washington Home." Conducted by a separate "executive
committee," it nevertheless was operating on Washingtonian principles.
So much for the Boston society. Apparently Hawkins and his associates had laid a
more sound foundation than was achieved in many communities.
As for organization and procedures elsewhere, perhaps the best clues are given
in the 1842 Washingtonian Pocket Companion (19), "Containing a Choice Collection
of Temperance Hymns, Songs, Etc.," - containing also the following directions
"For Commencing, Organizing, and Conducting the Meetings, of a Washingtonian
Total Abstinence Society."
I. The Commencement.- Wherever there are a sufficient number of drinkers, to get
up what is commonly called "a spree," there are enough to form a Society. It
only needs one or more individuals, (If an inebriate, or moderate drinker, but
resolved to reform, all the better,) to go to those persons, and to others who
make, sell or use intoxicating drinks and explain to them the principles and
measures of this great reform, and persuade them to agree to take the pledge at
a meeting to be held at some convenient time and place mutually agreed on. In
all these efforts, the utmost gentleness, and kindness, and patient
perseverance, and warm persuasion, should be used. At the meetings, appoint a
Chairman and a Secretary - if reformed inebriates, all the better. After singing
a hymn or song, let the Chairman, or other person, open the meeting by stating
its objectives - relating his experience in drinking, his past feelings,
sufferings, the woe of his family and friends, the motives and reasons that
induce him to take the present step, and appeal warmly and kindly to his
companions, friends and neighbours to aid him in it by doing likewise. The
Secretary, or other person may follow with a like experience...Other persons can
be called on to speak, until it is time to get signers to the pledge. Having
read the pledge...invite all who wish to join to rise up, (or come forward,) and
call out their names that the Secretary may take them down. Publicity and
freedom are preferable to private solicitations, whisperings, and secrecy in
giving the names...Then let the Chairman or other person, first pledge himself,
and then administer it to the rest.
After this, a hymn or song may be sung, and remarks and appeals be made, and
other names be obtained. After all have been obtained to take the pledge, let
them again rise up, and let the Chairman, or Secretary, or other person, give
them THE CHARGE - a solemn address on the nature and importance of the
obligations they have assumed and on the best mode of faithfully discharging
them. Then let a committee be appointed to draft a Constitution to be presented
at the next meeting.
II. THE ORGANIZATION. - At the next meeting, after singing, let the Constitution
be reported, and amended, if necessary, until it suits those who have taken the
pledge at and since the last meeting. Then adopt it. It should contain the
following, among the needed provisions. Preamble - A simple statement of the
prominent evils of intemperance, and of the resolution of the signers to aid in
extirpating their root. Some prefer a Parody on our National Declaration of
Independence for this purpose. Article 1 - The name of the Society, always using
the distinctive title, "Washingtonian," in that name. Article 2 - Declaring that
love, Kindness and moral suasion are your only principles and measures, and
disavowing denunciation, abuse, and harshness. Article 3 - Forbid the
introduction of sectarian sentiments or party politics into any lecture,
speeches, singing, or doings of the society. Article 4 - Providing for offices,
committees, and their election. Articles 5,6, and 7 - Duties of officers and
committees. (One of these should be a committee to relieve the poor, sick and
afflicted members and families of inebriates.) Article 8 - Provide for by-laws,
and alterations of the Constitution. Article 9 - Provide for labours with those
who violate their pledges, and the withdrawal of members...
III. HOW to CONDUCT the MEETINGS. - After the meeting has come to order, always
open with a hymn or song. Transact the business of the society with the utmost
order and dispatch....Then call for speakers. Let there be as many "experiences"
as possible, interspersed with brief arguments, appeals, exhortations, news of
the progress of the cause, temperance anecdotes, &c. Consult brevity, so as to
have as many of the brethren speak, as possible - the more the better....And
always be sure to call for persons to take the pledge, when the audience feel in
the right spirit. While the pledges are being filled up for delivery, pour out
the warmest appeals, or sing the most interesting hymns or songs. If any member
or other person violates the rules or order, or transgresses the principles and
measures of the society, remind him of it in good humour, gently and
kindly...KINDNESS must be the very atmosphere of your meetings, and LOVE the
fuel of all your zeal, and PERSUASION the force of all your speaking, if you
would have your society do the most good...(19).
Even more revealing is the definition, contained in the same Pocket Companion,
of the principles of the Washingtonian movement in terms of its differences from
the older societies.
I. All the former Societies directed their efforts mainly, if not wholly to the
prevention of intemperance.
"Washingtonianism," while it embraces all classes, sexes, ages and conditions of
society in its efforts, makes special efforts to snatch the poor inebriate from
his destructive habits - aims to cure as well as prevent intemperance. It
considers the drunkard as a man - our brother - capable of being touched by
kindness, of appreciating our love, and benefiting by our labours. We therefore,
stoop down to him in his fallen condition and kindly raise him up, and whisper
hope and encouragement into his ear, and aid him to aid himself back again to
health, peace, usefulness, respectability and prosperity. By the agency of
SISTERS in this labour, we endeavour to secure the co-operation of his family in
our effort...
II. Other societies, generally were auxiliary to a Country - that to a State -
and that to a National Society...
"Washingtonianism"...[makes] each society independent...
III. Before the Washingtonian Reform, not only the poor drunkard, but many of
nearly every other class in society supposed to be in the way of the
[temperance] cause, were denounced as enemies - held up to public indignation
and reprobation, threatened with the withdrawal of votes, pecuniary support, or
public countenance;...
"Washingtonianism" teaches us to avoid this course...We believe with the
American Prison Discipline Society, that "there is a chord, even in the most
corrupt heart, that vibrates to kindness, and a sense of justice, which knows
when it has been rightly dealt with." We have tried kindness with the poor
inebriate of many years continuance - we have found it powerful to overcome the
induration of heart caused by eight years of the world's contempt...Hence we
adopt the law of kindness - the godlike principle, "Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good," in our labours to win the maker, seller and user of
intoxicating liquors; and we disavow all compulsions, threats, denunciations,
hard names,...or malice or ill-will toward them...In short, "Moral suasion, not
force - love not hate, are the moving springs in the Washingtonian Creed" (19).
The hymns and songs contained in this Pocket Companion are likewise revealing.
Most of them are simply adapted Christian hymns and temperance songs, appealing
basically to religious and patriotic sentiments. In the preface it is frankly
stated that only such hymns and songs have been included which introduce no
"sectarianism, party politics, denunciation or harshness," or which contain no
"phrases and sentiments which all Christians could not conscientiously sing."
The central emphasis is probably contained in the following hymn on the "Power
of Love."
Love is the strongest tie Love softens all our toil,
That can our hearts unite; And makes our labours blest;
Love brings to life and liberty It lights again the joyful smile,
The drunkard chained in night And gives the anguished rest.
Obeying its commands, Let love forever grow,
We quickly supply each need; Intemp'rance drive afar,
With feeling hearts and tender hands A heaven begin on earth below
Bind up his wounds that bleed. And banish strife and war.
The principle of love and sympathy for the drunkard is, in countless references,
considered to be the distinctively new feature introduced by the Washingtonians
- and their central principle. John B. Gough attributed the success of the
movement to "the true spirit of Washingtonian sympathy, kindness and
charity...predominant in the bosom of this great Washingtonian Fraternity"(11).
Walter Channing, Unitarian Clergyman, in underscoring this principle, also calls
attention to the other distinctive feature of the Washingtonian movement - the
role played by the "reformed drunkards" themselves:
It was wholly new, both in its principles and its agents. It laid aside law and
punishment, and made love, the new commandment, its own. It dared to look upon
moral power as sufficient for the work of human regeneration - the living moral
power in the drunkard, however degraded he might be. It had faith in man...[and
so] the drunkard became a moral teacher... he rose from the lowest depths of
degradation, and became an apostle of the highest sentiment in his nature; viz.,
the love of man, the acknowledgment of the inborn dignity of man (9).

THE CAUSES OF DECLINE

The materials presented above would scarcely give the impression that the major
cause of the decline of the Washingtonian movement was its lack, and opposition
to, religion. Yet that charge gained currency and has been perpetuated in later
temperance writings. For example, Daniels, in 1877, wrote that "...this effort
to divorce temperance from religion was the chief weakness of the Washingtonian
movement(20)."
Actually, the charge seems to be based upon the generalization and
misinterpretation of certain real difficulties that did develop, in places,
between the Washingtonians and the churches - and upon the views of a few
extremists. A major source of information about the Washingtonian movement
available to later historians were the publications of the American Temperance
Movement, edited by John Marsh. In 1842 Marsh did become concerned about the
attitudes of some of the Washingtonians: "A lack of readiness on their part to
acknowledge their dependence on God, no small desecration of the Sabbath, and a
painful unwillingness, in not a few professed Christians, to connect the
temperance cause...with religion(13)."
It must be recalled that Marsh was the earliest and most ardent promoter of the
Washington movement. He had a genuine interest in the reformation of drunkards,
but his greatest interest was the promotion of the temperance cause. Above all,
Marsh wanted to establish the identification of temperance with religion and to
obtain the support of all church members. When the behaviour of some of the
Washingtonians threatened to antagonize some of the church people against the
temperance cause, Marsh did his best in his writings to counteract the
threatening trends in the Washingtonian movement. Later historians seemed to
overlook the fact that Marsh was addressing himself to minority manifestations -
and that Marsh succeeded to a considerable extent in countering these trends.
When, in the summer of 1844, Marsh sponsored and accompanied John B. Gough on a
tour through New York State, he was pleased with the fact that Gough was able to
speak in many churches - "even upperclass churches." On this improved rapport
with the churches, Marsh commented:
The open infidelity, and radicalism, and abuse of ministers, by some
reform-speakers had kindled up in many minds an opposition to all temperance
effort, especially on the Sabbath; but Mr. Gough took such decided ground on
religion, as the basis of all temperance, and the great security and hope of the
reformed, as entirely reconciled them, not only to the meetings, but to his
occupying the pulpit on the Sabbath (13).
The causes and coolness and even hostility between some of the Washingtonians
and some of the churches lay on both sides. For one thing, many Washingtonians
felt that their movement represented a purer form of Christianity than was to be
found in the churches. In fact, their chief criticism of churches was on this
score and did not stem out of antireligious beliefs. They felt that they were
living the principles which the churches talked about. This was expressed, for
example, in the following hymn stanza:
When Jesus, our Redeemer, came
To teach us in his Father's name,
In every act, in every thought
He lived the precepts which he taught (19).
Washingtonians, furthermore, we often critical of the unhealthy other -
worldliness prevalent in many churches:
This world's not all a fleeting show,
For a man's illusion given;
He that hath sooth'd a drunkard's woe,
And led him to reform, doth know,
There's something here of heaven.
The Washingtonian that hath run
The path of kindness even;
Who's measr'd out life's little span,
In deeds of love to God and man,
On earth has tasted heaven (19).
�

#5540

From: Glenn Chesnut <glennccc@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:38 pm
Subject: Part 1 of 3: Maxwell on the Washingtonians

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Offline

From: James Blair <jblair@...>�
(jblair at videotron.ca)

Part 1 of 3: Milton A. Maxwell,
"The Washingtonian Movement"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quarterly Journal of Studies On Alcohol,
Vol.11,410-452,1950

THE WASHINGTONIAN MOVEMENT

By Milton A. Maxwell, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Sociology
State College of Washington, Pullman, Washington

INTRODUCTION

Certain similarities between the Washingtonian movement of the nineteenth
century and the present day fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous have been
commented upon by a number of observers. In view of this resemblance there is
more than historical interest in an account of the first movement in the United
States which brought about a large-scale rehabilitation of alcoholics. The
phenomenal rise and spread of the Washingtonian movement throughout the land in
the early 1940's was the occasion of much discussion, exciting a deep interest.
The cause of its equally rapid decline have been a subject of much speculation
and are still of concern to the members of Alcoholics Anonymous who may wonder
whether or not their movement is destined to a similar fate. This article,
therefore, will present not merely a description and history of the movement but
also an analysis of the similarities and differences between the Washingtonians
and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Since the Washingtonian movement is so intimately linked to the larger
temperance movement, it may be well to recall the developments which preceded
1840. Before the 1830's, "temperance" was hardly a popular cause. Even in 1812,
when Lyman Beecher proposed to his fellow Congregational ministers that they
formulate a program for combating intemperance, "... the regular committee
reported that 'after faithful and prayerful inquiry' it was convinced that
nothing could be done to check the growth of intemperance..."(1). The custom of
serving liquor at ecclesiastical meetings probably influenced the outcome of
this "prayerful inquiry." But Lyman Beecher was not to be stopped. He headed a
new committee that recommended the following steps:

.... that district assemblies abstain from the use of ardent spirits (not wine)
at ecclesiastical meetings, that members of churches abstain from unlawful
vending or purchase (not from lawful vending and purchase) of liquor, that
farmers, mechanics and manufacturers substitute monetary compensation for the
ration of spirits, that voluntary associations aid the civil magistrates to
enforce the laws, and that the pamphlet of Dr. Rush (2) be printed and
circulated (1).The fact that these proposals were regarded as radical by the
custodians of the New England conscience is a sufficient clue to the state of
public opinion in 1812.

It was not until 1825 that Lyman Beecher preached his famous Six Sermons (3), in
which he defined intemperance not merely as drunkenness but as the "daily use of
ardent spirits." In 1826, in Boston, Beecher and Justin Edwards spearheaded the
founding of the first national society, "The American Society for the Promotion
of Temperance" (American Temperance Society) which sought, according to its
constitution, "...to produce such a change of public sentiment, and such a
renovation of the habits of individuals and the customs of the community, that
in the end temperance, with all its attendant blessings, may universally
prevail(4)."

The temperance movement began to take hold. In 1829 there were about 1,000
societies with a membership of approximately 100,000. By 1834 there were 5,000
local societies claiming 11,000,000 members, a gain of 500 per cent in 5 years.
A temperance press had been established. Effective literature had emerged.
Politicians were taking notice. In 1836 the American Temperance Society was
merged into the new and more inclusive "American Temperance Union," which
decided to take the stand of "total abstinence from all that can intoxicate(5)."

This step required an entirely new orientation. It is therefore not surprising
that sone 2,000 societies and countless individuals were not ready to go along.
Many wealthy contributors, unwilling to forgo wine, withdrew their support. Some
leaders were discouraged by the resistance to the new pledge and became
inactive. Various controversial issues added to the dissension. The movement
fell upon lean years. Its leaders, in 1840, were wondering what could be done to
restore the momentum of the years preceding 1836. Their effort were groping and
limited.

As for the alcoholic, it was the prevailing opinion, up to 1840, that nothing
could be done to help him. Occasionally a "drunkard" did "reform," but this did
not erase the general pessimism as to the possibility of rehabilitating
drunkards. Since alcohol was held to be the "cause" of alcoholism, the
temperance movement was aimed solely at keeping the nonalcoholic from becoming
an alcoholic. This implied indifference to the alcoholic was epitomized by
Justin Edwards in 1822: "Keep the temperate people temperate; the drunkards will
soon die, and the land be free(6)."

Thus the stage was set for the emergence of the Washingtonian movement.

THE BALTIMORE ORIGINS

One Thursday evening, April 2, 1840, six friends were drinking, as they were
wont to do almost every evening, in Chasels Tavern, on Liberty Street, in
Baltimore. They were William K. Mitchell, a tailor; John F. Hoss, a carpenter;
David Anderson and George Steers, both blacksmiths; James McCurley, a
coachmaker; and Archibald Campbell, a silversmith(7). Their conversation turned
to the temperance lecture which was to be given that evening by a visiting
lecturer, the Rev. Matthew Hale Smith. In a spirit of fun it was proposed that
some of them go to hear the lecture and report back. Four of them went and,
after their return, all discussed the lecture.

... one of their company remarked that, "after all, temperance is a good thing."
"0," said the host, "they're all a parcel of hypocrites." "O yes," replied
McCurley, "I'll be bound for you; it's your interest to cry them down, anyhow."
"I'll tell you what, boys," says Steers, "Let's form a society and make Bill
Mitchell president.".. The idea seemed to take wonderfully; and the more they
laughed and talked it over, the more they were pleased with it(8).

On Sunday, April 5, while the six were strolling and drinking, the suggestion
crystallized into a decision to quit drinking and to organize a total abstinence
society. It was agreed that Mitchell should be the president; Campbell the
vice-president; Hoss, the secretary; McCurley, the treasurer; and Steers and
Anderson, the standing committee. The membership fee was to be twenty-five
cents; the monthly dues, 12� cents. The proposal that they name the society in
honour of Thomas Jefferson was finally rejected and it was decided that the
president and the secretary, since they were to be the committee to draft the
constitution, should also decide upon the name. It was agreed that each man
should bring a man to the next meeting. And it was left to the president to
compose the pledge which they would all sign the next day. The pledge was
formulated by Mitchell as follows:

"We whose names are annexed, desirous of forming a society for our mutual
benefit, and to guard against a pernicious practice which is injurious to our
health, standing, and families, do pledge ourselves as gentlemen that we will
not drink any spirituous or malt liquors, wine or cider."

He went with it, about nine o'clock, to Anderson's house and found him still in
bed, sick from the effects of his Sunday adventure. He rose, however, dressed
himself, and after hearing the pledge read, went down to his shop for pen and
ink, and there did himself the honour of being the first man who signed the
Washington pledge. After obtaining the names of the other four, the worthy
president finished this noble achievement by adding his own(8).

The name, "Washington Temperance Society, 11 was selected in honour of George
Washington. Two new members were brought to the second meeting. Strangely
enough, they continued to meet for a number of weeks at their accustomed place
in Chase's Tavern. When the tavern owner's wife objected to the increasing loss
of their best customers, Mitchell's wife suggested that they meet in their home.
This they did until the group grew too large, whereupon they moved to a
carpenter's shop on Little Sharp Street. Eventually, they rented a hall of their
own.

As they grew in membership they faced the problem of making their weekly
meetings interesting. Their resourceful president made the suggestion that each
member relate his own experience. He started off with his story of 15 years of
excessive drinking, adding his reactions to his newly gained freedom. Others
followed suit. This procedure proved to be so interesting and effective that it
became a permanent feature of their programs. Interest and membership mounted.

In November the society resolved to try a public meeting in which Mitchell and
others would tell their personal experiences. The first such meeting, held on
November 19, 1840, in the Masonic Hall on St. Paul Street, was a decided
success. Not only did it bring in additional members but it also called the
movement to the interested attention of the people of Baltimore. It was decided
to repeat these public meetings about once a month in addition to the regular
weekly meetings of the society.

John Zug, a citizen of Baltimore who probably had his interest aroused by the
first public meeting, made further inquiry and, on December 12, 1840, wrote a
letter to the Rev. John Marsh, executive secretary of the American Temperance
Union, in New York City, informing him of the new society in Baltimore. In it he
told about the growth of the group:

These half a dozen men immediately interested themselves to persuade their old
bottle-companions to unite with them, and they in a short time numbered nearly
one hundred members, a majority of whom were reformed drunkards. By their
unprecedented exertions from the beginning, they have been growing in numbers,
extending their influence, and increasing in interest, until now they number
about three hundred members, upwards of two hundred of whom are reformed
drunkards - reformed, too, within the last eight months. Many of these had been
drunkards of many years' standing, - notorious for their dissipation. indeed,
the society has done wonders in the reformation of scores whose friends and the
community had despaired of long since(9).

So rapidly did the society grow during the following months that on the first
anniversary of the society, April 5, 1841, there were about 1,000 reformed
drunkards and 5,000 other members and friends in the parade to celebrate the
occasion. This demonstration made a deep impression upon the 40,000 or so
Baltimoreans who witnessed the event.

Additional information on the pattern of activities which made this growth
possible, and on the components of the therapeutic program which made the
reformation of alcoholics possible in the first place, is given in the writings
of contemporary observers. John Zug, in his first letter to John Marsh, included
the following description:

The interest connected with this society is maintained by the continued active
exertions of its members, the peculiar character of their operations and the
frequency of their meetings. The whole society is considered a "grand committee
of the whole," each member exerting himself, from week to week, and from day to
day, as far as possible, to persuade his friends to adopt the only safe course,
total abstinence; or at least to accompany him to the next meeting of the
"Washington Temperance Society." It is a motto of their energetic and worthy
President, in urging the attendance of the members at the stated meetings, "Let
every man be present, and every man bring with him a man."

They have rented a public hall in which they meet every Monday night. At these
weekly meetings, after their regular business is transacted, the several members
rise promiscuously and state their temperance experience for each other' a
warning, instruction, and encouragement. After this, any persons present wishing
to unite with them are invited forward to sign the Constitution and Pledge(9).

Christian Keener, the editor of the Maryland Herald, made these further
first-hand observations:

These men spared neither their money nor their time in carrying out the
principles which they had espoused. Many a poor fellow who from the effect of
liquor had become a burden to his family and himself was fed and clothed by
them, and won by kindness to reform his life; even more than this, they have
supported the families of those who they had induced to join with them, until
the husband and father had procured work, and was able to support them with his
own hands.

The peculiar characteristics of this great reform are first, a total abstinence
pledge .... Secondly, the telling of others what they know from experience of
the evils of intemperance, and the good which they feel to result from entire
abstinence(9).

John W. Hawkins, an early member, had this to say in one of his Boston speeches:

Drunkard! Come up here! you can reform. I met a gentleman this morning who
reformed four weeks ago, rejoicing in his reformation; he brought a man with him
who took the pledge and this man brought two others. This is the way we do the
business up in Baltimore. We reformed drunkards are a Committee of the Whole on
the State of the Union. We are all missionaries. We don't slight the drunkard;
we love him, we nurse him, as a mother does her infant learning to walk(10).

Christian Keener, in another communication, summed up the work as follows,
making at the same time a comparison with the operations of the regular
temperance societies:

The great advantage of the Washington Temperance Society has been this; they
have reached hundreds of men that would not come out to our churches, nor even
temperance meetings; they go to their old companions and drag them, not by
force, but by friendly consideration of duty, and a sense of self-respect, into
their ranks, and watch over them with the solicitude of friends and
brothers...(9).

Such was the character of the original Baltimore "Washington Temperance
Society."

THE SPREAD OF THE MOVEMENT

A phenomenon like this could not be confined to Baltimore, for the Washington
men had it in their power to meet many pressing needs. First of all, there were
the drunkards in need of reclamation - a need long ignored because the opinion
prevailed that there was no hope for them. The meeting of this need partook of
the miraculous. Secondly, there was the overwhelming drive on the part of the
reformed men to carry their message of hope to other victims of drink - spilling
over into a desire to prevent such suffering by winning those not addicted to
certain sobriety in total abstinence. Finally, there were the needs of the
temperance leaders. Set back by the 1836 decision to put temperance on a total
abstinence basis, they needed a convincing argument for total abstinence as well
as some effective means of rekindling enthusiasm for their cause. The Washington
men were the answer to these needs, for what could be a better argument for
total abstinence than its apparent power to reclaim even the confirmed drunkard;
and what could excite more interest than the personally told experiences of
reformed drunkards?

The first recorded activity outside of Baltimore was the speaking of John H.W.
Hawkins, in February 1841, to the delegates of the Maryland State Temperance
Society, meeting in Annapolis, and to the members of the State Legislature in
the same city.

Hawkins, who was to become the most effective spokesman of the movement, had
joined the Washington Temperance Society on June 14, 1840, after more than 20
years of excessive drinking. Born in Baltimore on September 28, 1797, he was
apprenticed at an early age to a hatmaker. During this apprenticeship he
developed a dependence on alcohol which was increased during 3 years in the
frontier communities of the West. His religious conversion at the age of 18 did
not eradicate this craving. Resuming his trade in Baltimore, he battled in vain
against his addiction. The panic of 1937 left him unemployed, reducing him to a
pauper on public relief. Guilt and remorse over his family's destitution only
intensified his alcoholism. His own account of his last drinking days and his
reclamation, as given in his first New York talk, are preserved for us:

"Never," said he, "shall I forget the 12th of June last. The first two weeks in
June I averaged - it is a cross to acknowledge it - as much as a quart and a
pint a day. That morning I was miserable beyond conception, and was hesitating
whether to live or die. My little daughter came to my bed and said, II hope you
won't send me for any more whiskey today.' I told her to go out of the room. She
went weeping. I wounded her sorely, though I had made up my mind I would drink
no more. I suffered all the horrors of the pit that day, but my wife supported
me. She said, "Hold on, hold on. I Next day I felt better. Monday I wanted to go
down and see my old associates who had joined the Washington Society. I went and
signed. I felt like a free man. What was I now to do to regain my character? My
friends took me by the hand. They encouraged me. They did right. If there is a
man on earth who deserves the sympathy of the world it is the poor drunkard; he
is poisoned, cast out, knows not what to do, and must be helped or be lost...
(8).

"It did not take his associates long to discover that he had the qualities of a
leader. A splendid physique and commanding presence, combined with a gift for
extemporaneous speaking, made him an ideal lecturer.(l)" It is not surprising,
therefore, that Hawkins was selected to speak before the Maryland State
Temperance Society and the State Legislature. Christian Keener left an
eyewitness report of the latter occasion which helps to explain Hawkins' appeal:

.... He commenced his speech by letting them know that he stood before then a
reformed drunkard, less than twelve months ago taken almost out of the gutter;
and now in the Senate chamber of his native State, addressing hundreds of the
best informed and most intelligent men and women, and they listened with tearful
attention. The circumstances had an almost overpowering effect on his own
feelings and those of his audience. He is a man of plain, good common sense,
with a sincerity about him, and easy way of expressing himself, that every word
took like a point-blank shot. His was the eloquence of the heart; no effort at
display(9).

About this time, a Baltimore businessman attended a temperance meeting in New
York City. News of the Baltimore developments having already been circulated by
John Marsh through the Journal of the American Temperance Union, this visitor
was requested to give a brief history and description of the Washington Soc3ety.
A conversation with Dr. Rease, after the meeting, brought forth the suggestion
that some of the Washington men be invited to New York to relate their
experiences. This tentative proposition was taken to the Baltimore society,
accepted by them, and the arrangements completed for a delegation of five to go.
The five were William K. Mitchell, John W. Hawkins, J.F. Pollard, and two other
members, Shaw and Casey.

Their first meeting in New York was held on Tuesday, March 23, 1841, in the
Methodist Episcopal Church on Green Street. The curious throngs were not
disappointed. As in Baltimore, the experiences of these "reformed drunkards"
deeply moved and inspired all those who came to hear. Not only that, but
real-life drama was enacted at the meeting. The New York Commercial Advertiser
reported the next morning:

During the first speech a young man rose in the gallery and, though intoxicated,
begged to know if there was any hope for him; declaring his readiness to bind
himself, from that hour, to drink no more. He was invited to come down and sign
the pledge, which he did forthwith, in the presence of the audience, under deep
emotion, which seemed to be contagious, for others followed; and during each of
the speeches they continued to come forward and sign, until more than a hundred
pledges were obtained; a large portion of which were intemperate persons, some
of whom were old and grey headed. Such a scene as was beheld at the secretary's
table while they were signing, and the unaffected tears that were flowing, and
the cordial greetings of the recruits by the Baltimore delegates, was never
before witnessed in New York(8).

All the subsequent meetings were equally successful. John Marsh and the other
temperance leaders who were promoting the meetings were delighted. With no
church large enough to hold the curious crowds, it was decided to hold an open
air meeting in City Hall Park. More than 4,000 turned out for this. The
speakers, mounted on upturned rum kegs, again enthraled the crowd. This
impressive occasion was merely the climax of a triumphant campaign: about 2,000
were converted to the total abstinence pledge, including many confirmed
drunkards with whom the men worked between meetings. At this time the Washington
Temperance Society of New York was organized.

The delegation returned to Baltimore in time for the first anniversary parade
and celebration, an April 5th. With the memory of the New York success still
fresh in their minds, this must have been a very happy and meaningful occasion -
not merely the recognition of a year's achievement, but also a portent of things
to come.

Things began to happen rapidly now. While the New York meetings were in
progress, John Marsh wrote to the Boston temperance leaders about the power of
the Washingtonian appeal. Arrangements were quickly made so that within a week
after the first anniversary celebration Hawkins and William E. Wright were on
their way to Boston for a series of meetings in the churches. There were those
who doubted that Bostonians would respond as enthusiastically as New Yorkers,
but the coming of these speakers was well published and even larger crowds than
in New York greeted them. The first meeting was held on April 15, 1841. The
Daily Mail had this report the following morning:

The Odeon was filled to its utmost capacity, last evening, by a promiscuous
audience of temperance men, distillers, wholesalers and retail dealers in ardent
spirits, conformed inebriates, moderate drinkers, lovers of the social glass,
teetotallers, etc., to listen to the speeches of the famous "Reformed
Drunkards," delegates from the Washington Temperance Society of Baltimore, who
have excited such a deep interest in the cause of temperance in other
places...Mr. Hawkins of Baltimore, was the second of the "Reformed Drunkards"
introduced to the meeting. He was a man of forty-four years of age - of fine
manly form - and he said he had been more than twenty years a confirmed
inebriate. He spoke with rather more fluency, force and effect, than his
predecessor, but in the same vein of free and easy, off-hand, direct, bang-up
style; at times in a single conversational manner, then earnest and vehement,
then pathetic, then humorous - but always manly and reasonable. Mr. Hawkins
succeeded in "working up" his audience finely. Now the house was as quiet and
still as a deserted church, and anon the high dome rang with violent bursts of
laughter and applause. Now he assumed the melting mood, and pictured the scenes
of a drunkard's home, and that home his own, and fountains of generous feelings,
in many hearts, gushed forth in tears - and again, in a moment, as he related,
some ludicrous story, these tearful eyes glistened with delight, sighs changed
to hearty shouts, and long faces were convulsed with broad grins and glorious
smiles(1).
The Boston Mercantile Journal reported the same meeting in the following manner:

The exercises at the temperance meeting at the Odeon last evening possessed a
deep and thrilling interest. The hall was crowded and Messrs. Hawkins and
Wright...spoke with great eloquence and power for more than two hours, and when,
at ten o'clock, they proposed abridging somewhat they had to say, shouts of "Go
on! Go on!" were heard from all parts of the house. We believe more tears were
never shed by an audience in one evening than flowed last night...Old grey
haired men sobbed like children, and the noble and honourable bowed their heads
and wept. Three hundred and seventy-seven came forward and made "the second
declaration of independence," by pledging themselves to touch no intoxicating
drink; among them were noticed many bloated countenances, familiar as common
drunkards; and we promise them health, prosperity, honour, and happiness in the
pursuance of their new principles(9).

When even the standing room in Faneuil Hall was filled, a few evenings later,
and the crowd responded with unrestrained enthusiasm, several hundred coming
forward to sign the pledge at the close of the meeting, there was no longer any
doubt that the Washingtonian reformers had a universally potent appeal. Here was
"human interest" material par excellence. No fiction could be more exciting or
dramatic. These true-life narratives pulled at the heartstrings. They aroused
awe and wonder at the "miracle of rebirth." Formal religious beliefs had flesh
and blood put on dry bones. And, to the victim of drink, the Washingtonian
message was like a promise of life to a doomed man. It was the impossible come
true.

During these meetings, a Washington Total-Abstinence Society was formed in
Boston. Hawkins was also engaged as the paid secretary of the Massachusetts
Temperance Society, and on June 1, 1841, returned from Baltimore with his
family. Within a short space of time, he and his Boston associates succeeded in
carrying the Washingtonian movement into 160 New England towns.

On May 11, 1841, the executive committee of the American Temperance Union, on
the occasion of its anniversary meeting in New York City, paid high tribute to
the Washingtonians. In July at the national convention of the Union, at Saratoga
Springs, this praise was even more fulsome. John Marsh and many of the other
leaders saw in the Washingtonians the possibilities of a great forward advance
for the temperance movement. None of them, however, even in their most
optimistic moments, sensed the vitality that was to be manifested by the
Washingtonian movement that very summer and autumn.

Even before the Saratoga convention, two of the most famous of the many
Washingtonian deputation teams, Pollard and Wright, and Vickers and Small, had
begun extensive tours. By autumn, many teams and individuals were in the field.
From the 1842 Report of the American Temperance Union, it is possible to trace
the rapid spread of the movement throughout the country.

J.F. Pollard and W.E. Wright, both of Baltimore - the former having accompanied
Hawkins to New York, and the latter to Boston - began their work early in the
summer of 1841 in Hudson, New York. Their first efforts were discouraging, but
soon they got attention and in a few weeks nearly 3,000 of the 5,500 inhabitants
of Hudson had signed the pledge. A Hudson resident has left this account of
their type of meeting:

Some of the meeting took the air of deep religious solemnity, eyes that never
wept before were suffused...the simple tale of the ruined inebriate, interrupted
by a silence that told of emotions too big for utterance, would awaken general
sympathy, and dissolve a large portion of the audience in tears. The spell which
had bound so many seemed to dissolve under the magic eloquence of those
unlettered men. They spoke from the heart to the heart. The drunkard found
himself unexpectedly an object of interest. He was no longer an outcast. There
were some who still looked upon him as a man. A chord was reached which had long
since ceased to respond to other influences less kind in their nature...The
social principle operated with great power. A few leaders in the ranks of
intemperance having signed the pledge, it appeared to be the signal for the mass
to follow: and on they came, like a torrent sweeping everything before it. It
was for weeks the all-absorbing topic...(7).

Pollard and Wright attended the Saratoga convention and then toured through
central and western New York; and that autumn, through New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. On this tour they obtained 23,340 signatures to the pledge,
"one-fifth of which were supposed to be common drunkards"(7). Late in 1841 they
spoke in Maryland and Delaware. They moved in January 1842 into Virginia, where
they worked particularly in Richmond, Petersburg, Charlottesville and Norfolk,
pledging Negroes as well as whites.

The other famous team, Jesse Vickers and Jesse W. Small, also of Baltimore,
began their campaign in June 1841 in Pittsburgh, where "all classes, all ages,
all ranks and denominations, and both sexes, pressed every night into
overflowing churches." In a brief time 10,000 were pledged, "including a
multitude of most hopeless characters"(7). This success was followed by another
in Wheeling, from which place they proceeded to Cincinnati where Lyman Beecher,
now president of Lane Theological Seminary, had diligently prepared the way for
their coming. Large crowds turned out for the meetings and a strong Washington
society was organized which, by the end of 1841, claimed 8,000 members, 900 of
them reformed. Cincinnati became the chief centre of Washingtonianism in the
West, and Vickers and Small spent a great deal of time preparing the converts
who were to carry on the missionary work. One of these Cincinnati teams, Brown
and Porter, obtained 6,529 signatures in an 8-week campaign in the surrounding
country, 1,630 of them from "hard drinkers" and 700 from confirmed drunkards.
Another Cincinnati team, Turner and Guptill, toured western Ohio and Michigan.
On December 21, 1841, a team of three, probably including Vickers, began a
campaign in St. Louis, laying the foundation for a Washington society that
numbered 7,500 within a few months. Many communities in Kentucky, Indiana and
Illinois were also visited. It is interesting to note that on February 22, 1842,
Abraham Lincoln addressed the Washington Society of Springfield, Ill. Just how
quickly the West was cultivated by the Washingtonian missionaries, operating
chiefly out of Cincinnati, is shown by the May 1842 claims of 60,000 signatures
in Ohio, 30,000 in Kentucky, and 10,000 in Illinois. Of these, it was claimed,
"every seventh man is a reformed drunkard, and every fourth man a reformed
tippler"(7).

The intensity of this cultivation varied with time and place. How intensive it
could be is well portrayed by a citizen of Pittsburgh, in a letter to John
Marsh, in April 1842:

The work has grown in this city and vicinity...at such a rate as has defied a
registration of its triumphs with anything like statistical accuracy. ...The
most active agents and labourers in the field have been at no time able to
report the state of the work in their own entire province - the work spread us
from place to place - running in so many currents, and meeting in their way so
many others arising from other sources, or springing spontaneously in their
pathway, that no one could measure its dimensions or compass its spread. We have
kept some eight or ten missionaries in the field ever since last June, who have
toiled over every part and parcel of every adjoining country of Pennsylvania,
and spread thence into Ohio and Virginia, leaving no school house, or country
church, or little village, cross roads, forge, furnace, factory, or mills,
unvisited; holding meetings wherever two or three could be gathered together,
and organizing as many as from 20 to 30 societies in a single county...(7).

In the Boston area, Washingtonian activity was intensive from the beginning.
Within 3 months after the first Hawkins and Wright meetings, the Boston society
had this to report:

Since this society went into operation the delegating committee have sent out
two hundred and seventeen delegations to one hundred and sixty towns in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island, with wonderful
success....Some of those towns where we have formed societies are now sending
out their delegates. The whole country is now alive to the subject...It is
acknowledged on all sides that no people like ours - although unlearned - could
create such a wonderful interest in the all absorbing cause....

There is no doubt that about 50,000 persons have signed the pledge in the
different towns that our delegates have visited. Where societies were already
formed, a more lively interest was created, - new signers obtained from those
who had been inebriates, and thus a new energy imparted...Where societies had
not before existed, new societies were formed...(8).

Ten months later, in May 1842, the Boston society had 13,000 members, had sent
260 delegations to 350 towns in New England, and had produced a number of
converts who had become effective missionaries outside of New England. Benjamin
Goodhue, in December 1841, stirred up great interest in Sag Harbour and the east
end of Long Island. A Mr. Cady, during this winter, toured North Carolina,
securing 10,000 signatures. In February 1842 Joseph J. Johnson and an unnamed
fellow Bostonian conducted successful campaigns in Mobile and New Orleans.

By May 1842 the movement had penetrated every major area of the country and was
going particularly strong in central New York and New England. The most vigorous
urban centres were Baltimore, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Washington, Cincinnati and St. Louis. The city of Baltimore had 15 societies and
7,842 members. New York and vicinity had 23 societies and 16,000 members. In the
Journal of the American Temperance Union, on April 1, 1842, John Marsh wrote
enthusiastically of the New York activity: "We suppose there are not less than
fifty meetings held weekly and most of them are perfect jams. Our accessions are
numerous and often of the most hopeless characters"(9). In and around
Philadelphia, where the societies took the name of Jefferson, some 20,000
members were enrolled. In the district of Columbia there were 4,297 members, and
another 1,000 in Alexandria, Va. Later in the year Hawkins visited Washington
and was successful in reactivating the old Congressional Temperance Society and
putting it on a total abstinence basis. Congressman George N. Briggs, soon to be
Governor of Massachusetts, became president of this reorganized society.

To the list of outstanding reformed men who became effective Washingtonian
missionaries during this first year, there should be added the names of George
Haydock, Hudson, N.Y.(8,000 signatures); Col. John Wallis, Philadelphia (7,000
signatures); Thomas M. Woodruff, New York City; Abel Bishop, New Haven, Conn.;
and Joseph Hayes, Bath, Me.

During 1842 the most outstanding temperance orator of all was won to the cause.
John B. Gough, a bookbinder, was reformed. When his platform ability was
discovered, many Washingtonian societies sponsored his addresses. As his
popularity grew he became a professional free-lance lecturer; and during the
years 1843-47 travelled 6,840 miles, gaining 15,218 signatures to thepledge(11).

Another important development was the organization of women into the little
known "Martha Washington" societies. The first such society was organized "in a
church at the corner of Chrystie and Delancey Streets, New York, on May 12 of
that year [1841], through the efforts of William A. Wisdom and John W.
Oliver"(12). The constitution detailed the purpose:

Whereas, the use of all intoxicating drinks has caused, and is causing,
incalculable evils to individuals and families, and has a tendency to prostrate
all means adapted to the moral, social and eternal happiness of the whole human
family; we, the undersigned ladies of New York, feeling ourselves especially
called upon, not only to refrain from the use of all intoxicating drinks, but,
by our influence and example, to induce others to do the same, do therefore form
ourselves into an association(12).

These Martha Washington societies were organized in many places, functioning to
some extent as auxiliaries of the Washingtonian societies, but also engaged in
the actual rehabilitation of alcoholic women. In the annual Report of 1843,
there is this reference"...the Martha Washington Societies, feeding the poor,
clothing the naked, and reclaiming the intemperate of their own sex, have been
maintained, in most places, with great spirit..."(7).

#5539

From: Baileygc23@...
Date: Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:22 pm
Subject: Bill W quote: Our quarrels have not hurt us ....

gcb900

Offline

Bill W. addressed one convention and said,
'Our quarrels have not hurt us  one bit.'

Can anyone tell me which convention it was,
and where I can get a copy of his entire
address to that convention?

#5538

From: Glenn Chesnut <glennccc@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:06 am
Subject: Jim Blair will be having surgery

glennccc

Offline

"James Blair"
<jblair@...>
(jblair at videotron.ca)

is going into the hospital for surgery now,
here at the beginning of this week.

He has been with us ever since the web group
first began. He is one of the handful of key
people whose work turned this web group into
one of the best and most thorough historical
sources around on early AA history.

Please let us all give him our prayers.

Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
�

#5537

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:58 am
Subject: RE: Big Book royalties -- domestic sales only?

lefthanded_ny

Offline

Roger:

The history of royalties is a rather long and
complicated one.

Bill and Dr Bob received royalties on the
Big Book. After Dr Bob's death Bill's royalty
agreement was modified a number of times to
grant him royalties on the Big Book, 12&12,
AA Comes of Age and The AA Way of Life
(later renamed to AS Bill sees It).

Royalties are calculated on sales in the US
and Canada. I believe there is only one
beneficiary left receiving royalties based
on an agreement between Lois Wilson and AAWS.

Total royalties paid from 1950 to 2007 amount
to around $19 million dollars (around $37
million if adjusted for inflation and converted
to 2006 dollars).

I'm going to post a multi-part series on
royalties on AAHL - it's a much misunderstood
topic - and as noted earlier a bit of a long
story.

Cheers
Arthur

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-----Original Message-----
Subject: Big Book royalties -- domestic sales only?

Bob and Bill received a stipend from the sale
of the BB ... but the proceeds now go to the
New York GSO.

The stipend was then and is now calculated
only on domestic sales of the books, is that
correct?

Thanks
Roger P

#5536

From: "tigereaz" <tigereaz@...>
Date: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:48 pm
Subject: Big Book royalties -- domestic sales only?

tigereaz

Offline

Bob and Bill received a stipend from the sale
of the BB ... but the proceeds now go to the
New York GSO.

The stipend was then and is now calculated
only on domestic sales of the books, is that
correct?

Thanks
Roger P

#5535

From: Peter Tippett <petetippett@...>
Date: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:48 am
Subject: DR. BOB against the use of vulgar lanquage

petetippett

Offline

We had a question about Bill W. commenting on
the use of foul language at meetings.

Dr. Bob had a comment on that issue, see the
last paragraph on page 224 of "Dr. Bob and
the good Oldtimers":

"While Dr. Bob's remarks were usually kind,
Dan K. (who had been one of Doc's many patients
at St. Thomas Hospital) noted that if a man
was a phony, he would tell the man so. "And
if he was sitting at a meeting and a man
used bad language, Dr. Bob would say, "You
have a very good lead young man, but it
would be more effective if you cleaned it
up a bit."

Also, page 298 refers to "the language of
the gutter."
   �
�� Pete Tippett

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (6)

#5534

From: "Arthur S" <ArtSheehan@...>
Date: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:04 pm
Subject: Re: Calvary Mission - Calvary House

lefthanded_ny

Offline

Google search (or some other search) can
provide good info:

The current Calvary Episcopal Church address is:

237 Park Avenue South at 21st Street
New York, N.Y. 10010

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/CalvaryEpis.html

Graphic of church location

http://stgeorgesnyc.dioceseny.org/about/directions.php

A history note about Bill W and Sam shoemaker

http://stgeorgesnyc.dioceseny.org/about/history.php

Calvary House is adjacent to Calvary Episcopal
Church - not across the street from it - the
building faces Gramercy Park.

The photo at the link below shows Calvary House
with Calvary Church to its left.

http://www.materialreligion.org/objects/may97obj.html

Cheers
Arthur

#5533

From: "Robert Stonebraker" <rstonebraker212@...>
Date: Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:14 pm
Subject: Where did Ebby reside during the winter of 1935/36?

rstonebraker...

Offline

Did Ebby -- being who he was, "Edwin
Throckmorton Thacher, the brother of the
Mayor of Albany, New York" -- really live,
eat and sleep in the Calvary Mission --
or was he kept in the much nicer Calvary
Parish House?

Bob S.

P.S. There is a picture of the Calvary
Church Parish House and Mission on the
site below - thanks Art!

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Indyfourthdimension

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Stonebraker
212 SW 18th Street
Richmond, IN  47347
(765) 935-0130

#5532

From: "ryantfowler@..." <ryantfowler@...>
Date: Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:57 am
Subject: Bill Wilson lived with Ernest Holmes for a while?

ryantfowler...

Offline

I have come to understand that Bill Wilson
was friends with Ernest Holmes. Also that
Bill Wilson lived with Ernest Holmes for
a while.  Does anyone know when? And for
how long he lived there?

Ryan

- - - -

From the moderator:

Ernest Holmes doesn't show up, under either
the E's or the H's, on the list of names at
http://silkworth.net/aahistory_names/names.html

The name Ernest Holmes also does not show
up in the indices to Pass It On, AA Comes
of Age, or Not-God.

- - - -

But a Google search showed that claims have
been made about a connection between Ernest
Holmes and Bill W. by people who are involved
in New Thought and New Age spirituality:

http://improveourconsciouscontact.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-question-by-gail-de\
witt.html
"New Thought principles are very similar to
AA principles. Some research by ministers and
practitioners reveals that Bill W and Ernest
Holmes, the founder of Science of Mind knew
each other and spent time together when
creating the programs I so love today."

http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=sp-bishopspong&msg=3657.45
"Bill W and Ernest Holmes, the Founder of the
Science of Mind philosophy (Religious Science)
were good friends and often traded concepts
and socialized together.  No wonder that many
Science of Mind ideas are in AA and visa versa."

- - - -

The only Ernest Holmes whom I know about
lived from 1887-1960 and was the founder of
a movement known as Religious Science.  He
was an ordained Divine Science minister.
In 1914, at the age of 25, Ernest moved to
Venice, California.  On October 23, 1927,
in Los Angeles, he was married to widowed
Hazel Durkee Foster. They were to be
inseparable companions for thirty years.
In 1926 his book "Science of Mind" was
published and the Institute of Religious
Science was established. By 1930, Dr. Holmes
was speaking to overflow audiences on Sunday
mornings at the Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.
He had a live radio program on CBS. Soon
thereafter the first branch of Religious
Science opened in Hollywood under the
leadership of Dr. Robert Bitzer. This was
the start of a worldwide movement which has
made the teaching and practice of Science of
Mind universally known. In 1953, the
Institute became the Church of Religious
Science. In 1967, it acquired its present-day
title, United Church of Religious Science,
with member churches throughout the world.

- - - -

So was there any direct link between Bill W.
and the Ernest Holmes in California who
founded Religious Science? Or is this just
myth and legend?

Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)

#5531

From: "ryantfowler@..." <ryantfowler@...>
Date: Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:01 am
Subject: Bill Wilson's meditation practices and guilded meditation

ryantfowler...

Offline

Does anyone know what Bill Wilson's meditation
practices were like, especially toward the end
of his life? Also, does anyone know when
guided meditation meetings were first held?

- - - -

From the moderator:

http://hindsfoot.org/medit11.doc

"Twelve-Step Meditation in the A.A. Big Book
and the 12 & 12"

will give you an intro to a lot of this.

Among other things, this article describes
how Bill W. himself talked about the use of
guided imagery on page 100 of the 12 + 12.

The sections at the end of the article talk
about:

Quiet Time

Jacobson�s method of progressive relaxation
(VERY effective, and too little known and
used in AA)

Emmet Fox, The Golden Key
(plus Fox's method of reciting a mantra
to quiet and calm the soul)

Glenn C.

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (6)

#5530

From: "corafinch" <corafinch@...>
Date: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:49 am
Subject: Re: Calvary Mission - Calvary House

corafinch

Offline

"Robert Stonebraker" <rstonebraker212@...>
wrote:

> I would like to know the exact address of the
> Calvary Mission which was on East 23rd Street.

In Helen Shoemaker's biography of her
husband (I Stand By the Door: The Life of
Sam Shoemaker), the address is given as
246 East 23rd Street (page 253). When
Shoemaker arrived it was an unused chapel.

> Also the same for the Calvary House (across
> the street from the Calvary Church).

According to the same book, page 89, Calvary
House was built on the site of an old rectory
at 103 East 21st Street. Have you checked with
the parish itself for pictures?

Cora

#5529

From: "Robert Stonebraker" <rstonebraker212@...>
Date: Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:07 am
Subject: RE: Paying his bill at the Mayflower Hotel

rstonebraker...

Offline

How Bill Wilson's hotel bill was paid?   A
possible answer could lie in the fact that
Bill received living expenses from the firm
of Baer and Company who sent Bill to Akron
to attempt a take-over of the Akron National
Rubber Company.  Pass It On, p. 135, third
full paragraph: "He had little money, but
they promised to support his efforts."

Apparently they did, throughout that entire
summer; page 42 of Not God, first full
paragraph, states: "Early in September, Bill
Wilson's proxy battle met another apparent
defeat.  His sponsors soured on projects
continuing costs, and Bill departed for New
York."

Of course, one wonders whether Henrietta
Seiberling might have paid it for him before
he moved to the Portage Lodge that month.

Bob S.

- - - -

stuboymooreman81
Subject: Paying his bill at the Mayflower Hotel

Hello all, Stuart from Barking Big Book study.

On p. 154 of the Big Book, Bill is in the
lobby of the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, "almost
broke" and "wondering how his bill was to be
paid."

I was wondering how he did obtain the money
to pay his hotel bill and so forth.

Thanks a lot,
Stuart

#5528

From: "Robert Stonebraker" <rstonebraker212@...>
Date: Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:18 pm
Subject: Calvary Mission - Calvary House

rstonebraker...

Offline

I would like to know the exact address of the
Calvary Mission which was on East 23rd Street.

Also the same for the Calvary House (across
the street from the Calvary Church).

Photos would be much appreciated.  My email
address is

rstonebraker212@...
(rstonebraker212 at comcast.net)

Thanks in advance,

Bob S.

#5527

From: "terry walton" <twalton@...>
Date: Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:42 pm
Subject: Is the 3rd Step Prayer based on any earlier prayer?

terrylwalton

Offline

On page 63 of the Big Bood, we read what is
commonly referred to as the 3rd step prayer:

"God, I offer myself to Thee -- to build with
me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me
of the bondage of self, that I may better do
Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that
victory over them may bear witness to those
I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy
Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"

Is this a prayer which was originally written
by some other author?  Do we know who that
earlier author was? Can it be found in print
in some pre-AA written source?

Or was it based at least in part, on some
traditional prayer?  If so, does anyone have
a history of the development of this prayer?

"Decision" is often referred to in Oxford
Group books.  Does the wording of this prayer
in the Big Book reflect any known Oxford Group
prayers?

#5526

From: "stuboymooreman81" <stuboymooreman81@...>
Date: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:35 am
Subject: Paying his bill at the Mayflower Hotel

stuboymoorem...

Offline

Hello all, Stuart from Barking Big Book study.

On p. 154 of the Big Book, Bill is in the
lobby of the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, "almost
broke" and "wondering how his bill was to be
paid."

I was wondering how he did obtain the money
to pay his hotel bill and so forth.

Thanks a lot,
Stuart