Evening star., 1927-05-19
Citizens Service Association
for Law and Order Is
Organized.
MOVEMENT GROWS OUT
OF CRITICIZED SCHEME
DR.. Ellison Denies Intention TO At.
tack Personal Liberties
of Citizens"

| Law and Order. an organization de-
| voted primarily TO assisting the Police
| Department in enforcing the provi.
| sions of the 18th amendment here.
| came into being today as an out
| growth of the Church Service Asso-
| citation, which originally undertook
this work, but failed of complete or
| ganization.
Heading the new association Is
| Rev. DIR. William S. Abernethy, pastor
of Calvary Baptist Church; Rev. DR..
George NJ. Difenderfer. pastor of
Luther Place Memorial Church, is
vice president; DIR. Everett Ellison,
physician and president of the Wash
| ington Round Table. is secretary. and
DIR. Arthur c. Christie, an X-ray spe-
cialist, is treasurer.
On the board of directors, which In
| cludes the foregoing officers, is Rev.
| DIR. Jason Noble Pierce, pastor Of the
| First Congregational Church.
Maj. Hesse Approves.
| Final plans for launching the or
I ganiZation were made at luncheon
| in the University Club yesterday aft
ernoon, at which Maj. Edwin B. Hesse,
superintendent of police, was present
and gave his hearty Endorsement to
| the new organization.
Other members of the board OF di.
rectors, which to date is not complete,
are Rev. Mark Depp, pastor of Cal
vary Methodist Episcopal Church;
Rev. William A. Lambeth, pastor of
| Mount Vernon Methodist Episcopal
Church South; Rev. Freeley Rohrer.
president of the Pastors Federation Of
| the District; Rev. Fred b. Harris,
president OF the Federation of
Churches of the District; Rev. Homer
J. Councillor. president of the Organ
| ICED Bible Class Association OF the
| District, and these laymen:
| r. NJ. Bryan, president Of the Bryan
| Printing Co: John II. Connaughton,
| attorney; William Knowles Cooper,
| general secretary of the Y. NJ. c. A;
DIR. A. w. Cummings. dentist; Page
Mex. Etchison, director of religious
work of the y. NJ. c. A; Bart B. Pig
man. superintendent. Wallace Memo
| rial Sunday school; Noah r. Robinson,
| real estate operator, and Horace L.
Stevenson. trustee of the Bethany
Baptist Church, of which his father is
pastor.
Douthitt to Serve.
Harry N. Douthitt, former prohibi.
ton agent, and regarded as the prime
mover in the organization of the
Church Service Association, is listed
as acting as a field secretary" Both
he and Mr. Stevenson, who was listed
as president of the other organiza.
tion, voluntarily resigned their offices
and were elected to the board OF di-
rectors of the new group.
DR.. Ellison. as official spokesman for
the organization, today declared that
all policies and methods of procedure
in assisting Mai. Hesse have been and
will continue to be determined by the
board of directors. The association,
he said, will conduct its work ''in an
orderly way" and. he emphasized,
there will be no spy system or any
thing that can bring about that ac-
cusation."
Will Receive Reports.
The organization is expected to re.
ceive reports of violations from any
or all citizens as they find them, to
investigate and determine their ex-
tent, and if the matter warrants, re-
mort the eJtire information to the po'
lice. who, IN turn, will get evidence,
conduct raids and appear as prose-
cutting witnesses, DR.. Ellison said. NO
member of the association would pc
placed in the position of having to OBJ
tain evidence and perform other duties
assigned to the police, he added.
AS to the 'violators." DIR. Ellison
declared the association is after the
professional, fragrant, wilfuH Vloiators
of the law.
"There is no intention to interfere
with personal liberties Of citizens,
he said.
Speakeasies, bootleggers and places
where liquor is being manufactured
win be the targets of the association.
as well as any other public nuisance"
brought about by liquor.
Spying" Not Intended.
Informally. DR.. Ellison explained
that the association would not tolerate
reporting an individual, if it was
learned he had bottle of liquor in
his home for beverage purposes.
That, he said. would come under the
'spy system" which the Church SerT-
ice Association was accused of haV-
ing adopted. But, should the resident
in a community, by excessive drink
ing, become a nuisance to his neigh
bors, a menace to women ana cnlt-
dren and an eyesore to the area, then
whoever thought it proper TO report
thorough investigation before the
police were called in to finish up the
job.
Douthitt. around whom a storm
brewed for a while because of his
public utterances as to what the
Church Service Association proposed
doing, would be the expert, it was eX.
planned, in the investigation work be-
cause of his experience along those
lines. A central headquarters soon Is
to be established and indicat tionS today
were that it would be located in the
front office of 1920 NJ street, which
building now is occupied by DIR. FL.
lison and several other physicians.
Signing Pledge Required.
Membership in the association neces-
states the signing of a pledge to re-
port all violations of tha -haracter
outlined by DIR. Ellison. The dues are
81 a year, from which the expenses OF
the organization will be paid No
goal has been set. But DIR.
Abernethy, at the meeting yesterday.
said there were many thousands of
Christians in Washington who are
willing to help in this work"
The organization, as it now exists,
is not sponsored by any other group
DIR. Ellison explained, but is able to
stand on it's own foundation without
assistance from any one. Mr.. Coun-
cillor, who has had a large share OF
the work to do in bringing about the
selection of the board of directors. was
Continued on Page 2. Column a. 4