The Committee of Fifteen was a New York City citizens' group formed in November to combat prostitution and gambling. Established by influential members of New York's upper class, the Committee aimed to expose and reduce vice within the city, focusing particularly on areas where police corruption and political protection facilitated illegal activities.
Through a combination of undercover investigations and public advocacy, the Committee gathered extensive evidence on urban vice, eventually presenting its findings to Governor Benjamin Barker Odell, Jr. While the Committee disbanded later that year, its findings influenced the creation of the Committee of Fourteen , which took up the cause.
The Committee of Fifteen was founded during a period of rising concern over urban vice, driven by fears of moral decline and frustrations with police corruption. In , Bishop Henry Codman Potter publicly condemned New York's "red-light" districts, where gambling and prostitution flourished under police protection. In response, Tammany Hall attempted to address the issue by creating a Committee of Five, which proved ineffective due to internal corruption and inaction.
Baldwin, Jr. Seligman , and George Foster Peabody , to form the Committee of Fifteen as an independent body with greater resources and public support. The Committee's purpose extended beyond merely closing down brothels and gambling dens. Its founders viewed vice as symptomatic of broader social problems, including poverty, inadequate housing, and political corruption. They believed that targeting prostitution and gambling would expose systemic issues and pressure the government to enforce moral standards.
The Committee's investigations aimed to gather empirical evidence, using it to support reform-oriented legislation and pressure public officials into adopting stricter enforcement measures. The Committee of Fifteen employed a comprehensive and structured approach to investigation. Using private detectives, often former law enforcement officers, the Committee's investigators visited saloons, gambling houses, brothels, and tenements, documenting their observations.
