Raines law Raines law The Raines law, authored by John Raines, was passed on March 23, 1896, by the New York State Legislature. It was nominally a liquor tax, but its intention was to curb the consumption of alcohol by imposing regulations. Among other provisions, it prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday except in hotels. Most men worked a six-day week, and Sunday was the only full day for drinking at saloons. Under the law, however, hotels were allowed to serve liquor on Sunday, to guests only, if it was served during a meal or in the bedrooms of the
Committee of Fourteen most Raines Law hotels had closed, but the Committee remained active until it ran out of money in 1932, when it was disbanded. Committee of Fourteen The Committee of Fourteen was founded on January 16, 1905 by members of the New York Anti-Saloon League as an association dedicated to the abolition of Raines law hotels. While blue laws banned saloons from selling alcoholic beverages on Sundays, the Raines law of 1896 permitted hotels to do so. When saloon keepers responded by creating bedrooms, which were then used for prostitution, the Committee demanded premise inspections to distinguish between legitimate hotels and