The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-07-06
)SEPH D. HOLMES,

JOSEPH D. HOLMES,
 Chairman of the .sCitizens' Committee
 of Fifty of Orange, N. J.
 (Exclusive Service The Survey Press Bureau.)
 Senator Colby, speaking before a church club in Newark, on the lessons of the last local elections, when the
 reform forces were apparently defeated advised the formation of a sort of a vigilance committee, to follow up the
 workings of the county officials and
 the sheriff's office, and to compel a stricter enforcement of the law.
 Most willing and efficient of city officials need, and often welcome, such valid expression of public opinion as is afforded by volunteer organiza-
 tions. The writer thinks that the work of voters leagues, and similar bodies in general is too diffuse, or in
 other words is spread out too thin, and the workers, not seeing results immediately achieved, or, their forces meeting defeat at an election, become disheartened and disorganized, and all
 too frequently disband and give up
 the struggle. It is the purpose of this
 paper to suggest to those interested
 in civic improvement, and especial ly to those hoping for better munich pal government, that the more sci entific plan of specialization of effort VIII OILGn accomplish the QGSlTeu re- suit with a minimum of machinery
 and a consequent conservation of eff
 fort. The writer describes an actual experiment.
 The Citizens Committee of Fifty of
 Orange, N. J., was organized after several conferences of the Bureau of
 Associated Charities on "The Liquor
 Problem in Orange" It was named.
 of course, for the famous Committee
 of Fifty, of which ex-President Eliot
 is chairman having for it's the study of the same problem Our
 committee was organized on the basis
 of a membership of the pastors of
 sixteen churches, with two laymen
 acts either as officer or on the ex- ecutive committee. The membership has changed somewhat in the twelve
 years of the committees existence, as there are no strict rules concern ing it, but the basis is practically the same. @ k e
 The committee concerns itself only with the liquor question.
 At it's inception, there were one hun dred and fifteen saloons in Orange, and the license fee was only two hundred dollars. Previous to this time licenses had been granted freely by the Com mon Council, on petition of six prop erty holders, and were seldom refused. An enabling act having passed the Legislature, the council dfvested it. self of the licensing power placing it with a Board of Excise. consisting of three members, appointed by a judge of the County Court This body has supreme power in granting all licenses and fixing the license fee.
 Realizing that the first step toward apating the saloon evil was to reduce the number of saloons by increasing the license fee, the committee pre- pared petitions asking for an increase to three hundred dollars.
 Orange is a manufacturing town with a F>f1y1 1fxr-f f7xra thousand.a large foreign element and considerable colored colony. Prohib- ition was not thought of. Even as the result of local option, 1t has been the opinion of those best advised that speak easies,'' cellar kitchens, and the s'boot-1egger' would be the inevit- able result of closing all saloons. The recent legislative investigation shows that this is the case in the rural com munities of southern New Jersey. On the other hand, there was no question but that drinking would be diminished, and the character of the saloon raised, on the average, by a reduction in the number. The petitions were signed by every civic body in the Oranges. They included thu Bureau of Associated Charities, the Y. M c. A., the w. C. T. D., the Children's Aid and Protec- tive Society, the New England Socie- ty, the Trustees of the Orange Me moria1 Hospital, and some twenty others, many amending the petition ana asking TOT an 1r1meQ1ar6 increase in the fee to five hundred dollars. The petition was also signed by every clergyman in the community, includ- ing the Roman Catholic priests and the Jewish rabbi.
 At first the petition was rejected. It was opposed by the saloon-keepers, and the board claimed that there was no public demand for the changei It also questioned whether increasing the cost of the license would decrease the number of saloons, as many of them were owned by breweries which were amply able to stand the increase. Changes occurred in the personnel of made, then revoked, then adopted at three hundred dollars. It is now four hundred dollars ard will probably be raised to five hundred.
 The committee does not claim credit for these changes. Public sentiment ways there to voice public sentiment, and to keep it's first demands from being forgotten. The next feature of i the work is in regard to infractions of the law.
 All police complaints are brought to the attention of the board at it's monthly meetings. Soon after the or ence was held with the executive | committee of the Liquor Dealers As sociation of Orange. The members | told the committee. that they pledged l to obey the law not to sch l to minors, not to sell to habitual l also to discipline any member found guilty of such attractions They have also volunteered to assist in the | prosecution of those guilty of these | offenses! Nothing was said at this time about Sunday closing Sunday
 11