The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-11
VOTERS SOLVE THE LIQUOR PROBLEM York of Citizens Committee at
 Orange, N. J. WITH THC LIQUOR DEAL FRS The Number of Saloons Are Lessened, Dives Are Abolished and There
 Is no More Sunday Selling.
 Result of Prohibition.
JOSEPH D. HOLMES, Chairman of the "Citizens' Committee of Fifty" of Orange, N. J.

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 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 ths formation of a sort of vigilance commit tee, to follow up the workings of the county officials and the sheriffs office and to compel a stricter enforcement of the law
 Most willing and efficient of city off, cials need, and often welcome such a valid expression of public opinion as is af- forded by volunteer organizations Tho 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 be- come 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 i'm provement and especially to those hoping for better municipal government. that the
 
 effort will often accomplish the desired result with a minimum of machinery and a consequent conservation of effort The writer describes an actual experiment. The Citizens Committee of Fifty of Or ange, N J., was organized after several conferences of the Bureau of Associated Charities on 'The Liquor Problem in Or ange." It was named, of course, for tho famous Committee of Fifty, of which ex- President Eliot Is chairman, having for its purpose the study of the same prob- lem. Our committee was organized on the basis of a membership of the pastors of 16 churches, with two laymen from each church. None of the clergy acts either as officer or on the executive committee. The membership has changed somewhat in the 12 years of the committees existence. as there are no strict rules concerning it, but the basis is practically the same. The committee concerns itself only with the liquor question.
 At It's inception, there were 115 saloons in Orange, and the license fee was only s2O0. Previous to this time licenses had been granted freely by the Common Coun- cil on petition of six property holders, and were seldom refused. An enabling act having passed the legislature, the coun- cil divested itself of the licensing power, placing 1t with board of excise, consist ing of three members. appointed by a judge of the county court This body has l supreme power in granting all licenses and fixing the license fee.
 Realizing that the first step toward abating the saloon evil was to reduce the number of saloons by increasing the li- cense fee. the committee prepared peti- tions asking for an increase to $500.
 Orange is a manufacturing town with a population of about &,000. a large for eign element and a considerable colored colony. Prohibition was not thought Of Even as the result of local option, 1t has been the opinion of those best advised that speak easies," "celar kitchens" and the ''boot-legger' would be the inevita ble result of closing all saloons. The recent legislative investigation shows that this is the case in the rural communities of southern New Jersey On the other hand there was no question but that drinking would be diminished, and the charact sr of the saloon raised, on the average, by ! reduction In the number. The petitions were signed by every civic body in the Oranges. They included the Bureau of Associated Charities, the Young Mems Christian association, the Women's Chris tian Temperance union. the Children's Aid and Protective society, the New England society, the trustees of the Orange Memo rial hospital and some 20 others, many amending the petition and asking for an immediate increase in the fee to $500. The petition was also signed by every clergy man in the community, including the Ro- man Catholic priests and the Jewish rabbi.