The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-12-06
CHRISTIAN CIVIC LEAGUE.
Executive Committee Met Saturday-No
Branch To Be Formed Here at Present.

The Christian Civic league is making
preparations for an active campaign in
this state and soon the work will be I'M.
dertaken in earnest and efforts will be
made to extend the movement all over
Maine and to establish auxiliary leagues
in every town and city.
Saturday afternoon the executive COM
mlttee of the Christian Civic league
held meeting at the Congress Square
hotel. Those present at this meeting
were Prof. George c. burlington of the
Pennington Normal school, Rev. VIM. F
Berry, Hon. Hiram Knowlton and Rev.
Rollin T. Hack of Portland. but the 9TH
er two members Of the committee, Messrs
H. E. Dunn and Horace burlington of
Waterville, were detained by business and
were unable to be present. The committee
made rough draft of constitution
which is to be adopted by the auxiliary
league now organizing in the state and
as soon as this draft is presented to the
other two members of the league and
ratified by them it will be sent to the
auxiliary leagues to be adopted.
This constitution will be similar in
many ways to the constitution of the
state league, only it will be SO changed
as to be adapted TO local work. The
purpose of the Civic league, as the consti-
tuition states, is 'by all means at our
command and by cooperation with 9TH
er existing agencies,1, to educate the PEG.
pie in all that pertains to good citizen
ship; 2, to arouse and maintain through
out th9 state reverence for law; 8, to
secure the enactment of the best possible
laws, their impartial execution, and the
A vice president has been appointed
for each county and he has the power of
choosing seven men to act with him as
an advisory board and to see that the
work is properly carried on. The execU-
tive committee of the state league is re-
CURED to hold meetings quarterly and
they have the power of carrying out the
general purposes of the organization.
The secretary of this society is the Rev.
W. z. Berry OF Portland, and Saturday
night he gave a TIMES reporter. some
idea of the work which the league is
now doing and what it hopes to do. He
said that in Aroostook county the league
has been very actively at work and has
increased its membership very rapidly
1t has established auxiliary leagues in
every large town in the country and the
membership there is about 400. During
the past fall many lectures have been
given explaining the purposes of the
organization. and it Is believed that in
few months the membership will
rapidly increase. Some organization
work has also been successfully carried
on in Waldo, Kennebec, Oxford and York
counties and considering the limited
effort that has been made, the progress
is very remarkable.
''The league is now preparing for ag-
gressive work." said Mr.. Berry, land
as soon as the funds will warrant IL. n
state secretary will be put to work in
the field whose duty it shall be to orga-
nize local leagues and extend the terri
tory of the state league as the oonstitu
ton will show, it is the purpose of the
state league to stimulate public sentiment
in regard to the proper enforcement of
the laws now on the statute books and
to endeavor to have men elected to pub
lie office who will see to it that these laws
are enforced to the letter.
Already in Maine there are over 1000
members and these have been obtained