The Committee of Fourteen was founded on January 16, 1905, by members of the

New York Anti-Saloon League The New York Anti-Saloon League was an American organization that worked toward the prohibition of alcohol and the closing of saloons. Located at 156 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, it was an offshoot of the Ohio-based Anti-Saloon League. Adna W. Leonar ...

as an association dedicated to the abolition of

Raines law The New York State liquor tax law of 1896, also known as the Raines law, was authored by the New York State Senator John Raines and adopted in the New York State Legislature on March 23, 1896. It took effect on April 1, 1896, was amended in 1917 a ...

hotels.

History

While

blue law Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...

s banned saloons from selling alcoholic beverages on Sundays, the

of 1896 permitted hotels to do so. When saloon keepers responded by creating bedrooms, which were then used for prostitution, the Committee demanded inspections of premises to distinguish between legitimate hotels and saloons. On May 1, 1905, a law was passed that a city inspection had to occur before a license was issued. By 1911, most Raines Law hotels had closed, but the Committee remained active until it ran out of money in 1932, when it was disbanded.

Members of the Committee

* William Henry Baldwin, Jr. * Walter G. Hooke * Alice Davis Menken * James Pedersen *John P. Peters *

Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch (September 8, 1867 – November 15, 1951) was an American city planner and social worker. Biography She was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to Laura Davis Holmes (1839-1932) and Isaac Franklin Kingsbury (1841-1 ...

George Haven Putnam George Haven Putnam A.M., Litt.D. (April 2, 1844 – February 27, 1930) was an American publisher, soldier, and writer. He was the president of G. P. Putnam's Sons for its first 52 years, from 1872. Biography The eldest son of publisher George Pal ...

* Francis Louis Slade *

Percy S. Straus The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

Lawrence Veiller Lawrence Turner Veiller (1872–1959) was an American social reformer of the Progressive Era in New York. He was a major figure in the Good government and urban planning movements of the early twentieth century. Early life and education Lawrence Tu ...

* Frederick H. Whitin * George E. Worthington *

Raymond B. Fosdick Raymond Blaine Fosdick (9 June 1883 - 19 July 1972) was an American lawyer, public administrator and author. He served as the president of the Rockefeller Foundation for twelve years (1936-1948). He was an ardent internationalist and supporter of ...

Notes

* Research Committee of the Committee of Fourteen. (1910).
The social evil in New York city : a study of law enforcement
' * Research Committee of the Committee of Fourteen. (1912, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1919–1924).
Annual Report
' * Research Committee of the Committee of Fourteen. (1914-1915).
Annual Report
'

References

{{Prostitution in the United States, state=collapsed Prostitution in New York (state) 1905 establishments in New York City 1932 disestablishments in New York (state) Organizations based in New York (state) Organizations established in 1905 Organizations disestablished in 1932

History

Members of the Committee

See also

Notes

References